Data keeps piling up: No 'mass exodus' from California during pandemic FacebookTwitterEmail New research by the California Policy Lab shows that most Californians who moved in 2020 moved to other regions within the state.Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Adding to the evidence suggesting that the much-discussed “California exodus” during the pandemic is mostly hype, new research by the California Policy Lab shows that most Californians who moved in 2020 moved to other regions within the state. The nonpartisan think tank examined a data set from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel that contained residential locations for all California residents with credit history. The data set was able to track how many state residents moved from one place to another each financial quarter.