California is bad for business? Don’t tell Californians.

California lost a major multinational business this month when Chevron announced plans to move its headquarters to Houston .

Elon Musk said in July that he’ll move both SpaceX and the social media platform X, also to Texas .

Critics decry some of the state’s environmental regulations, taxes, and liberal policies.

California 's cheerleaders note its top rank in a host of economic metrics, including gross domestic product, agricultural production and manufacturing.

Texas ' growth has outpaced California ’s so far this century .

For the first time in a decade , California is the state with the most Fortune 500 companies, with 57 .

Texas ’ growth rate was more than twice that of California in the last year .

California has more homeless residents than any other state.

Chevron has long been vocal about the difficulty of doing business in California , where thousands of employees will remain even when the corporate leaders move. But some of the decline in its own business prospects here reflects the transition toward a cleaner economy where other employers can prosper in the future. “ California isn’t for everybody, but it’s certainly for a lot of different businesses and industries,” says Mr. Kaye . “You pay a price for being here, but you also get something for it.” Staff writer Laurent Belsie contributed to this report..