Phoenix & Southwest | November 20, 2020

Pandemic Accelerates Migration to Arizona

Relocations into Arizona are accelerating as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Research by CBRE shows residents inbound from the California represented 23% of all relocations, and that was prior to the health threat.

CBRE reports the average annual migration from California to Arizona was 52,251 residents between 2006 to 2018 while those exiting Arizona for California totaled 32,361 people, representing a net flow of 19,890 people. California is by and far the largest source of migration to Arizona, followed by Texas and Washington.

CBRE’s Vanessa Vogel indicates migration from California to Arizona has only accelerated during the pandemic. She told the Phoenix Business Journal, “We expect office-using occupations to continue to come to Arizona and even accelerate.”

Arizona’s high-quality workforce, affordability, business-friendly environment, climate and array of amenities are proving attractive to employers. One reason for the growth in office-type jobs in Phoenix is the fact that remote work practices during the pandemic have allowed office workers the flexibility to work where they chose, points out Vogel. Job growth in the industrial sector has largely been driven by Phoenix’s proximity to the ports.

California companies are the prime relocation targets for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, too. The organization’s pipeline of 249 active prospects include 28% from California. Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Chris Camacho notes the group has been “hyper-focused” on southern California, especially for manufacturing and other industrial companies.

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.

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