OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:05 AM PT – Sunday, January 17, 2021

It appears dozens of Big Tech companies are leaving California for other states across America.

According to a report Friday, many employees of major tech companies said remote work due to coronavirus restrictions led them to leave San Francisco for places where they say “life is easier.”

One big factor in the move was the continued rise of taxes (to support incoming immigrants) in the Golden State, which makes states without income tax more desirable. California has one of the highest income tax levels in the nation.

“California’s top marginal income tax rate is now 13.3 percent, which is already one of the highest in the nation,” political commentator Ben Shapiro said. “The legislator is actively discussing raising it to 16.8, which on top of federal taxation means that if you’re in the top tax bracket you’re paying 54 percent of your income to the federal and state government.”

In the meantime, the number one place for these tech workers to move turned out to be Austin, Texas followed by Seattle, New York and Chicago. Austin has a healthy tech industry with tech company ‘Dell’ based nearby.

Companies like Twitter and Facebook have reportedly tried to sublet some of their San Francisco office space as office vacancy rates in the area have spiked more than 16 percent, which is the highest in a decade.

However, it isn’t only tech companies moving away. Ordinary California families are also finding new lives in other states.

Sahin Boydas, a former San Francisco resident and founder of a remote start-up, said he understands how the top one percent can be happy in California, but not so much for everyone else. The price of living is just one factor, as Boydas noted that selling his former three-bedroom apartment in the Bay Area got his family a five-bedroom house on an acre of land in Texas.

Additionally, a new population estimate from a December report shows more than 130,000 people left California than those who moved there. This marks the third-largest net migration loss ever recorded.