Real estate firm Redfin just issued a report on the effects of air pollution on population migration. It considers how many people left a state or city against those who moved into the market from 2019 to 2022. It then compared these figures to air quality in the markets. Dallas and Phoenix topped the list of cities with a 0% chance of poor air quality and had the largest influx of those who moved to the cities compared to those who left during the period examined.
Worst Air — San Francisco Problem
Climate Problem — Malibu Storms
The study was titled “People Are Moving Out of Areas With Poor Air Quality, Often Because They’re Too Expensive.” The universe covered the 100 largest metros by population. According to the authors, Air quality was based on current data and forecasts for poor air quality days in 30 years. Air quality was based on 1) particulate matter (PM2.5), which often results from wildfire smoke, and 2) ozone (O3), which happens as pollutants react with heat/sunlight.