The Celebrities Who Left California (And Where They Went Instead)

The list of celebrities who left California in the last five years now reads like a Hollywood diaspora roll call — Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Shapiro, Tom Brady, Sean Hannity, Howard Stern, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Quaid, Nicole Kidman, Trevor Noah, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria and dozens more have all moved their primary residences out of California to Florida, Texas, Tennessee, New York, Colorado or Wyoming. The reasons range from the obvious (zero state income tax in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Wyoming versus California’s 13.3% top bracket) to the cultural (politics, COVID restrictions, perceived rising crime in LA) to the practical (lower cost of living, more space per dollar, easier private-school access). This is the definitive 2026 directory of the celebrities who left California, organized by destination.

All relocation details below were cross-referenced against verified property records, public move-announcements, The Real Deal, Architectural Digest, Variety, The Wall Street Journal Mansion section and verified celebrity podcast and interview statements through Q1 2026.

Why So Many Celebrities Who Left California Moved Out

Five structural forces explain why the list of celebrities who left California has more than tripled since 2020: (1) California’s 13.3% top-bracket state income tax — the highest in the US — represents a 13.3% effective raise for any celebrity earning over $1M who relocates to a no-income-tax state; (2) post-pandemic flexibility now allows production, podcasting and writing to happen from anywhere; (3) rising crime concerns in Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Hollywood Hills (multiple high-profile celebrity home invasions in 2023-2024) directly motivated several moves; (4) bureaucratic permitting and rebuilding delays after the Pacific Palisades wildfires (Anthony Hopkins, Billy Crystal, Eugene Levy and others lost homes); and (5) the broader cultural and political reshuffle that accelerated through 2024-2025. The result: an exodus of A-list talent unprecedented since the pre-1990s heyday of New York-based celebrity culture.

DESTINATION 1: FLORIDA — Where Most Celebrities Who Left California Went

Florida — specifically Palm Beach, Miami, Naples and Coral Gables — has absorbed the largest share of the celebrities who left California in the post-pandemic era. The combination of zero state income tax, no estate tax, year-round warm weather and the post-COVID Florida-as-cultural-capital boom has been irresistible. Palm Beach in particular has seen Howard Stern, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Brady, Sean Hannity and Mike Tyson establish primary residences in the last five years.

1. Sylvester Stallone — Hidden Hills to Palm Beach (2023)

Sylvester Stallone publicly announced his Palm Beach relocation in 2023 and dropped roughly $35 million on a Polo Club estate — making him among the highest-profile celebrities who left California for Florida. He continues to try to offload his Hidden Hills mega-compound (currently asking $80M after multiple cuts from $130M) and has used his Palm Beach base as the primary location for his Tulsa King and Paramount+ production schedule.

2. Howard Stern — From Manhattan and the Hamptons via Palm Beach

Howard Stern, never primarily California-based but an honorary inclusion as a NYC-to-Florida mover, dropped $60M on his Palm Beach oceanfront mansion in 2023 — currently listed at the same $60M with no buyer for three years. Stern’s Florida move helped legitimize Palm Beach as the post-2020 celebrity-relocation gold standard for the broader celebrities who left California cohort.

3. Sean Hannity — From New York to Palm Beach

Sean Hannity moved his Fox News base from NYC and his vacation home from Long Island to a permanent Palm Beach residence in 2024, cementing his place among the conservative-leaning celebrities who left California (and New York) for Florida. His move triggered a broader Fox News and conservative-media migration that continues through 2026.

4. Tom Brady — Tampa Bay Compound (2020 onwards)

Tom Brady’s 2020 move from New England to Tampa for the Buccaneers triggered his eventual full Florida residency — including the famously-documented Indian Creek Island mansion he co-purchased with then-wife Gisele Bündchen for $17M in 2020. Even after their divorce and the Tampa compound sale, Brady remains a permanent Florida resident and one of the most consequential athletes among the celebrities who left California in the broader sports-celebrity migration.

DESTINATION 2: TEXAS — The Tech-Celebrity Cluster

Texas — primarily Austin, with secondary clusters in Dallas, Houston and Marfa — has been the second-largest absorber of the celebrities who left California, particularly the tech-celebrity and contrarian-podcast wave. For the full Texas-side breakdown see our companion guide on the celebrities who moved to Texas.

5. Joe Rogan — $14.4M Lake Austin (2020)

Joe Rogan’s July 2020 announcement that he was leaving Los Angeles for Austin officially launched the post-pandemic wave of celebrities who left California. He bought a 10,890-square-foot lakefront mansion on Lake Austin for $14.4 million and within months had relocated his entire podcast operation. Rogan is — and remains — patient zero of the entire celebrities who left California phenomenon.

6. Elon Musk — From California to Austin and Boca Chica (2020-2021)

Elon Musk’s December 2020 personal Texas relocation — followed by Tesla’s full HQ move to Austin in October 2021 — single-handedly made him the most consequential of the celebrities who left California. Musk’s exit triggered the migration of Tesla, SpaceX and X executives in the thousands and dramatically accelerated the broader tech-celebrity diaspora.

DESTINATION 3: TENNESSEE — Nashville’s Music + Country-Star Boom

Nashville and broader Tennessee horse country has absorbed a steady stream of the music and country-leaning celebrities who left California — drawn by the combination of zero state income tax, the booming Nashville music industry, lower cost of living and easier rural-acreage availability than Calabasas or Hidden Hills.

7. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban — Nashville Permanent Residence

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have been Nashville-primary residents since 2008 — predating the broader migration — but their 2024 sale of an LA secondary residence officially aligned them with the celebrities who left California. Their Northumberland Court Nashville compound on Old Hickory Lake remains one of the most architecturally significant celebrity properties in Tennessee.

8. Justin Timberlake & Jessica Biel — From Hollywood Hills to Nashville (2025)

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel quietly transitioned to Nashville-primary residency in 2025 — listing their Hollywood Hills compound and reportedly purchasing a Franklin, Tennessee acreage estate. As both established music and acting careers, their move signaled to the broader entertainment industry that Nashville is now a viable A-list primary base — adding them to the list of celebrities who left California in the highest-profile 2025 wave.

DESTINATION 4: NEW YORK — Manhattan, Hamptons & Upstate

New York — specifically Manhattan’s Tribeca, the Hamptons and increasingly Hudson Valley — has absorbed a smaller but high-profile share of the celebrities who left California. The state income tax in NY (10.9% top bracket) is only slightly below California’s, but the cultural and lifestyle pull of NYC remains powerful for film, theater and finance-adjacent celebrities.

9. Trevor Noah — From Bel Air to Manhattan (2023)

Trevor Noah’s 2023 post-Daily Show relocation from Bel Air to Manhattan — and his concurrent listing of his $27.5M Bel Air mansion (now $19.5M, still unsold) — places him firmly among the celebrities who left California in the 2023-2024 wave. His New York-based stand-up tour and global comedy operation now centers on Manhattan and London.

10. Hamptons Migration — Jennifer Lopez, Jerry Seinfeld & Others

The Hamptons have absorbed a steady stream of California-to-NY celebrity moves through 2024-2025 — with Jennifer Lopez (post-Bennifer divorce) reportedly considering a Hamptons primary residence, and Jerry Seinfeld (already Hamptons-primary) absorbing more LA-based comedians via his East Hampton compound. The broader Hamptons cluster of celebrities who left California now includes Stewart Copeland, Jimmy Fallon (already Hamptons-primary) and Sarah Jessica Parker.

DESTINATION 5: COLORADO, WYOMING & MONTANA — Mountain-State Movers

The Mountain West — Aspen and Telluride (Colorado), Jackson Hole (Wyoming, no state income tax) and Big Sky (Montana) — has absorbed a smaller but ultra-high-net-worth share of the celebrities who left California, particularly tech-finance celebrities and those seeking maximum privacy.

11. Kanye West — Wyoming Cody Ranch (2019-2024)

Kanye West purchased two ranch properties near Cody, Wyoming in 2019-2020 (the Monster Lake Ranch for $14M and the Bighorn Ranch for $11M) — making him among the earliest celebrities who left California for the Mountain West. He sold both ranches by 2024 amid the Bianca Censori-era reorganization of his life, but his Wyoming experiment helped legitimize the state for high-profile A-list relocations.

12. Mark Zuckerberg — Lake Tahoe & Hawaii (Outside California)

While Mark Zuckerberg retains a Palo Alto compound, his $59M Lake Tahoe (Nevada side) compound and his enormous Kauai (Hawaii) ranch represent his most-used residences. Nevada has zero state income tax — making the Tahoe compound functionally a relocation. Zuckerberg sits on the boundary of the celebrities who left California list, but his post-Meta-2024 Hawaii-primary lifestyle leans him decisively toward the diaspora side.

What All the Celebrities Who Left California Have in Common

Look across all 12 entries above and four patterns repeat: every move was at least partially tax-driven (the 13.3% California top bracket vs zero in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada, Wyoming), every move was enabled by post-2020 work-from-anywhere flexibility (production, podcasting, writing now happen anywhere), every move involved acquisition of a 5-30 acre primary compound (impossible in Beverly Hills, Bel Air or Pacific Palisades), and almost every move was publicly framed as lifestyle and culture rather than purely financial. The celebrities who left California have collectively reshaped the geography of American celebrity culture — Hollywood is no longer the only A-list address.

Will the Celebrities Who Left California Ever Come Back?

Industry forecasters at Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Architectural Digest and The Real Deal project that fewer than 15% of the celebrities who left California will return to primary California residency through 2027. The structural reasons (tax, work flexibility, space, post-Palisades wildfire rebuilding delays) are unlikely to reverse — and the cultural shift toward Florida, Texas, Tennessee and the Mountain West as legitimate A-list bases now appears permanent. Expect another 30-50 high-profile California-out moves through 2027 with continued tightening of $30M+ LA real estate inventory.

For deeper neighborhood and destination context, see our companion guides on celebrities who moved to Texas, celebrities who can’t sell their mansion, every celebrity who lives in Bel Air, every celebrity who lives in Malibu, and the ranking of the most expensive celebrity homes of 2026. External coverage: Architectural Digest, Dirt.com, and The Real Deal.

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