Yet another reason why people are leaving Calif. in droves.
California is surprisingly not the most expensive in the country, in fact California is only 10th on the list of the highest auto registration by state.
As for leaving in droves, not exactly accurate, there are more people leaving than entering at the moment, but the established population keeps having kids and the net population growth is still increasing, just at a reduce rate. California is having the slowest population growth in its history, but it's still growing.
Which is why houses for sale in the state are typically sold in less than 30 days and the available apartments for rent is at an all time low with the highest rent historically. You would think if people were actually leaving California in droves, that home prices would fall and rents would drop, but that's the opposite of what's happening, because there is net population growth.
As for the OP's original question, mine is the same as yours on the 2nd year registration.