Nearly half Bay Area residents said they want to move away: report

Poll: Nearly half say they are considering leaving Bay Area over housing costs.

SAN FRANCISCO - A recent poll finds nearly half of Bay Area residents have considered leaving the region.

But that's actually down from a few years ago.

The Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley poll showed that 47 percent of people surveyed say they want to move out of the Bay Area in the next few years.

Last year, about 52 percent said they wanted to leave.

And the year before, 56 percent said they wanted to go.

The majority of people cited housing costs as the reason for considering leaving.