Analysis: Ex-Californians overwhelmingly pour into Texas

In 2021, San Jose lost residents five times faster than the rest of California did. Currently, SCC locals continue migrating to other states like Texas in the tens of thousands each year—and they aren’t slowing down. The California Globe’s Sheridan Swanson parses this mounting concern using YTexas, Hartman Income REIT, and UHaul data.

Longtime California companies relocating to Texas is an ongoing trend. YTexas, an elite business network supporting companies in the Lone Star State, releases yearly reports highlighting corporate relocations and expansions. Its most recent report, published last year, shows that 25 out of 62 corporate relocations to Texas in 2021 came from California. That means California alone accounted for 40% of the nation’s corporate relocations to Texas that year. 

Outside of Frisco, the broader Dallas-Fort Worth area has drawn relocations or expansions from Charles Schwab and the nation’s largest drug distributor McKesson, both of which relocated from San Francisco. 

The years-long trend is not limited to corporations. Hartman Income REIT Management, Inc. reports that more than 687,000 Californians have relocated to Texas since 2010. Their analysis reveals driving factors to be low tax rates, low cost of living, and low corporate rent. 

U-Haul’s migration data reflects Texas’ dominance in terms of interstate relocations. Texas has been in the top three states for inbound migration every year since 2016. During each of those years, California has been in the bottom three — ranking last (50th place) in 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

This article originally appeared in the California Globe. Read the whole thing here.

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity

Image by HireAHelper on Flickr