Texans are on the move—But they’re not going far

Around 3.36 million Texas residents, accounting for just over 11 percent of the state’s total population, relocated within the Lone Star State in 2023, according to a report from Texas Realtors.

This figure, in absolute and percentage terms, was the highest of any state in the U.S., indicating a strong desire by many Texans to remain in Texas.

Texas has seen its population surge over the past few years. United States Census Bureau data shows that between July 2022 and 2023, the state saw its population increase by 473,453, more than any other in the nation. This produced an annual population growth rate of 1.6 percent, the third highest in the U.S., behind only South Carolina and Florida.

According to Texas Realtors, who cited the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, in 2023, around 612,000 people moved to Texas from other states. Another 479,000 people moved out of Texas for a different state, producing a net inflow from the rest of the nation of about 133,000 people.

The state that saw the most people leave for Texas in 2023 was California, at 94,000 people. Other notable moves to Texas included 51,000 from Florida, 30,000 from each of New York state and Oklahoma, and 28,000 from Louisiana.

California also topped the list for Texans moving out in 2023, with 39,000 people moving to the Golden State. Over this period, some 38,000 Texans moved to Florida, 32,000 each to Colorado and Oklahoma and 21,000 to Georgia.

In net terms, the states losing the most people to Texas were California, with 55,000; Florida, with 13,000; New York, with 11,000; and Maryland and Louisiana, with 10,000 apiece.

“Texas is a great place to live,” Texas Realtors chair Jef Conn told Dallas news station WFAA. “With our wide variety of locations, quality of life, and thriving economy, it’s not surprising that so many Texans who moved chose to remain in the Lone Star State.”

According to its official website, the Texas Realtors, which seeks to represent the Texas real estate industry, currently has around 159,000 members.

Newsweek reached out to Texas Governor Greg Abbott‘s office for comment via email on Tuesday outside of regular office hours.

A report released in March by the Texas Workflow Commission, based on data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, found that in the fourth quarter of 2023, the state’s economy grew by five percent in real GDP terms at an annualized rate. This was notably above the figure for the U.S., which was 3.4 percent.

Reacting to this success, Abbott commented: “The most dynamic economy in the nation is built by Texans. I am proud that Texas again leads all states in annual job creation.”

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, in 2023, only eight states recorded a population decline. New York fell the fastest, followed by California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Texas’s population grew by 1.6 percent in 2022, while California, Oregon and New York saw their populations decline.

Sam Karnick, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, told Newsweek that crime was a major factor behind the shift from Democratic to Republican-controlled states.

“Populations in Democrat-controlled states are falling because of an exodus from big cities. The reverse is happening in Republican-controlled states,” Karnick said.

“Although taxes are an important factor, there was not nearly as much blue-to-red state movement before 2020. The deciding element appears to be the rapid rise of violent crime in Democrat-controlled cities across the nation.”