I’m thinking to transfer from LAC to a large public university but does university tend to favor people who are in their respective states?
It depends on the university. If you are hoping to transfer as an OOS student to one of the UC or CSU schools in CA, that would be all but impossible.
The figures should be available for the university you wish to transfer to. Of course, if you needed help finding this info, sharing the name of the hopeful transfer-in school would help.
In general, public universities do give some priority to in-state students, but the degree to which they do varies. For instance, three-quarters of students at the U of Vermont are from OOS. 56% of students at U of Alabama are from OOS.
My daughter decided to transfer from a LAC to a medium sized state flagship. She was out of state and accepted to the school.