Nearly half of adults living in the Bay Area say they will likely move out in the next few years, according to a Bay Area Council poll. Most cite concerns about whether they will be able to find affordable housing.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from around the nine-county Bay Area, home to Silicon Valley.
The survey shows that 40 percent of respondents say they are likely to move out of the Bay Area in the next few years, up from 34 percent in 2016. Around 58 percent noted concerns that they would not be able to find affordable housing, and another 86 percent said they are concerned their friends and family would not be able to find affordable housing either.
Forty-six percent of millennials say they are looking to leave the Bay Area, as compared with 30 percent of those 65 years and older who are considering the same.
Additionally, 78 percent of all Bay Area adults surveyed say they know someone forced out of the region in the past two years by high housing costs. Approximately 84 percent believe housing costs will continue to increase over the next two years.
State officials have said housing production in the Bay Area has not kept pace with demand. The poll shows that 76 percent of respondents think that housing shortage is threatening the Bay Area's economy.