“In 19 of the last 20 years, California ranked as the top move-to-Texas state. The share of Californians relocating to Texas has increased every year since 2011.”

Dr. Luis Torres, Economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University

The 2020 U.S. Census showed Texas continued to surge in population, growing to 29,145,505 souls, an increase of 4 million in 10 years and the largest number of any state.

But where did all these people come from?

An economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University shed some light on the question.

More than one of every 10 people moving to Texas during the 2020 pandemic year was from California, said Luis Torres, but this wasn’t new to the COVID-19 year.

“In 19 of the last 20 years, California ranked as the top move-to-Texas state. The share of Californians relocating to Texas has increased every year since 2011,” Torres said.

California experienced a huge growth spurt during the 20th century and remains the most populous state with more than 39.5 million, but its growth has stagnated and many of those who headed east came to Texas. As a result, the Golden State lost one U.S. Congressional district in the latest census while the Lone Star State gained two.

Florida was the second largest source of new Texans with a 7.2% share, less than half the California influx. Rounding out the top five sources were Colorado, Illinois, and Louisiana.

Most of the Californians who decided pastures were greener in Texas came from the southern part of the state, the study shows. Many of the eastbound moving vans on I-10 bore plates from Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties – some of the largest in the state.

Many of the immigrants from other states were from bigger counties, too, including Maricopa (Phoenix, Arizona), Cook ( Chicago, Illinois), Clark (Las Vegas, Nevada), El Paso (Colorado Springs, Colorado), and King (Seattle, Washington).

Refugees from other states preferred to settle in Texas’ larger counties, with Harris County getting the lion’s share at 10%. Other popular destinations are Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Dallas and Collin. Many California expatriates preferred the Austin area.

While Utah was the fastest growing state in terms of percent, Texas’ raw population growth was more than Utah’s entire population.

“In 19 of the last 20 years, California ranked as the top move-to-Texas state. The share of Californians relocating to Texas has increased every year since 2011.”

Dr. Luis Torres, Economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University
© © 2021 Journal Media Group

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