Here we go again.

Did you know California has high housing costs?

If you didn’t know yet another study, as if one is needed, breathlessly announced last week that — drumroll — people are leaving California due to high housing costs.

The American Community Survey “report” — which notes it is an estimate —  indicated 343,000 people left California in 2022 versus 230,000 people that moved to the Golden State.

That is an estimated net loss of 113,000.

The ACS report was promptly used by a number of outlets from traditional media, the propaganda apparatus of state economic development department in Arizona, Texas and Florida and especially those Internet sites that fish for views using clickbait to make the  unanimous affirmation that it’s because of high housing costs.

Then, depending on the source’s agenda or the state’s own set of warts they don’t want to discuss in trying to tear down their No. 1 domestic competitor better known as California, they toss in customized kitchen sinks such as homelessness, insurance costs, tax rates, and such.

Make no mistake about it.

California is still golden.

And it is also has rotten aspects with a huge asterisk.

That’s because numbers and isolated rankings never tell the entire story

First the numbers.

Where do we start?

In terms of gross domestic product, California is by far No.1  in the United States at $3.5 trillion, smoking second place Texas at $2.1 trillion.

On the world stage based on gross national products, California would come in at No. 5 if it were a nation behind the United States, China, Japan, and Germany. It would be ahead of India.

Arizona, whose state leaders like to nitpick at California, ranks 19th in gross domestic product as a state at $430 billion and 48th compared with the big boys on the list of nations between Portugal and New Zealand.

Based on per capita income. California is the fifth highest state at $89,540. The closest California’s biggest three detractors among fellow states comes in is Texas at 18th ($18,264 less than California),  Arizona at 36th ($30,486 less than California), and Florida at 37th ($30,539 less that California).

By overall tax burden, California — despite having the fifth highest per capita income is 12th behind (in descending order) New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Rhode Island.

California, by the way, ranks 25th nationally in terms of the poverty rate, Texas beats the Golden State at 13th,  Arizona at 15th, and Florida at 20th.

Based on population, California is No. 1 at 39.2 million, followed by Texas at No. 2 with 29.2 million, and Florida at No. 3 with 21.7 million, Arizona is back at 14th with 7.2 million.

 California, with 44,540 COVID deaths, barely edged out Texas at  44,518.

But in terms of actual death rates per 100,000 residents — an apple to apple comparison — California was left in the dust.

The Golden State’s 99.9 per 100,000 death rate was 26th. Florida had a 111.7 per 100,000 death rate, Texas a 151.4 death rate, and Arizona a 139.5 death rate.

This is where those that slam California from Arizona, Texas and Florida get real defensive. They point  out — while at least Florida and Arizona do – that they have a higher percentage of  older people than California.

In making their COVID success defense, they have undermined their entire argument against California as the pit state because we lead in issues such as homeless and — for those that don’t appreciate the overwhelming positive impacts of immigrants most of whom do work and contribute significantly to the economy — migrants.

Yes, California blows the doors off homeless numbers with 171,521 with the second highest state being New York with 74,178. Then comes Florida at third with 25,959. Texas is fifth at 24,432, and Arizona is eighth at 13,553.

Here’s where it gets a little interesting. The District of Columbia, based on its overall population, has a homeless rate per capita nearly 50 percent higher than California’s at 43.5 per 100,000 ahead of Vermont at 42.96 per 100,000.

That means as the percentage of the general population, there are more homeless people living in DC and almost as many in Vermont (42.96 per 100,000), Oregon (42.35 per 100,000), and Hawaii (41.43 per 100,000).

Given California has 10 million more people than the next state, which is Texas, and overall is home to 12 percent of all residents in the United States, the Golden State should be on the top of every bad and good list.

California isn’t.

It’s a pretty mixed bag.

Now let’s cherry pick like state leaders do in Arizona, Texas, and Florida when it comes to slamming California in their bid to lure people from the Golden State. They clearly have an inferiority complex when it comes to California as they keep capping on the land that produces well over 60 percent of the fruits and nuts everyone consumes.

Texas and Florida have heat-related death rates that are more than double of California’s.

Arizona, which until last year was fourth behind California, is at 56 heat related deaths per 100,000 residents in 2022, and apparently is vaulting ahead of the Golden State. They are at a record 420

Arizona’s Maricopa County — home to the aptly named Phoenix Suns — is already at an annual record of 425 heat-related deaths as of Oct. 14.

Then there are things that are difficult to quantify using state-to-state comparisons.

The Wall Street Journal this past week, reported most homes with mortgages under $1 million in Florida now have annual homeowners insurance premiums that are higher than monthly mortgage payments.

That’s funny thing about the cost of home ownership. It includes more than just buying the house.

So how bad is Florda’s insurance market? Insurance premiums in much of the state are between five and seven times higher than last year.

There is a lot of good stuff about California.

On virtually every Top 20 college list the Golden State has four — Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Cal Tech.

California has 9 of the  country’s 61 national parks.

It is by far the most productive farm state for much for the same reason why most people like living here — it’s the Mediterranean climate.

There is not a single state that comes close to its combination of mountains, rugged and pristine coastlines, valleys, deserts, and even such natural nuances as trees given California has the tallest and biggest trees on the planet and the oldest in the United States.

The snow falls mostly where it belongs — in the mountains.

And, as an aside, it definitely can feel like Christmas in California with temperatures in the high 70s and no snow since the last time anyone checked that is more attuned to the climate in Bethlehem.

There’s much more non-quantifiable pluses for California one can list that can’t be defined by numeric rankings.

The same is true about other states, including those where their respective leaders have severe cases of California envy.

No one is saying California is perfect.

And California isn’t everyone’s cup of tea

As for housing costs, they’ve been high in California for a long time.

No news there.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com