Texas ranked second in the nation for relocation activity in 2019, according to the 2021 edition of the Texas Relocation Report released by Texas REALTORS®, which analyzes the latest available migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U-Haul.
“Once again, Texas welcomed more than half a million new residents from other states,” said Marvin Jolly, 2021 chairman of Texas REALTORS®. “Some move here for a lower cost of living than where they’re from, a great quality of life, diverse job opportunities, good weather—there are many reasons people continue coming to Texas.”
According to the Census estimates, Texas welcomed 537,000–582,000 new residents in 2019. This is the seventh year in a row that Texas attracted more than 500,000 new residents from out of state. The Census also estimated 435,000–471,000 Texans moved to other states, yielding a net gain of approximately 100,000 people. The Lone Star State also welcomed approximately 192,000–222,000 new residents from outside the United States in 2019.
The highest number of new Texans from other U.S. states relocated from California and Florida, respectively. Other top states for people moving to Texas included Louisiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Georgia, and Arizona.
California ranked first in the United States for the number of residents moving out of state in 2019, with Texas coming in second. The most popular out-of-state relocation destinations for people moving out of Texas included California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Florida, and Georgia. While California was the top state new Texans moved from and existing Texans moved to, about double the number of Californians moved to Texas compared to the migration of Texans to California.
From 2014 to 2018, the top counties for people moving to Texas from out of state included Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis. On the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA recorded the highest number of incoming residents from out-of-state during the same time frame.
“Though we don’t have 2020 relocation statistics yet, increased remote-work opportunities and company relocations continued to fuel moves from other states to Texas during the pandemic,” said Jolly. “No matter what part of the state these new residents are moving to, no one is better positioned to help them realize their real estate dreams than a Texas REALTOR®,” he said.