How Many People Are Really Moving to Texas?

It should come as no surprise that there are a lot of people moving to Texas.

And a lot of these people are moving to Austin. There’s not a week that goes by that Austin isn’t making it to the top of a list as the best city for [insert title here].

Why are so many people moving here? Jobs, schools, music, outdoor activities, nightlife, you name it.

It’s obvious that with all the growth we are experiencing in the Lake Travis area, people aren’t just making their way out to Texas and settling down under the big city lights of Austin.

You may be wondering … where are all these people coming from?

The 2015 Edition of the Texas Relocation Report was released on October 1, 2015. It’s time to reveal the truth. Is everyone that moves to Texas coming from California?

What you may not know is that a good chunk of Texans are getting out of Texas.

Let’s take a look at not only who’s moving to Texas, but where are the Texans going that leave Texas?

#1 Californians

Yes, it’s true. California grabbed the number one spot with 63,591 Californians making the change to become Texans.

But it looks like a lot of those Californians (turned Texans) — or Texans becoming Californians — decided that Texas really wasn’t the place for them.

California grabbed the top spot for the state that Texans moved to when 38,990 people left Texas for California.

Was it the heat or the traffic? In the end, 24,601 Californians stuck around … and some of you might believe they’re all here in Austin.

#2 Floridians

Floridians think Texas is pretty cool. 40,930 of them made the move to Texas grabbing them the number two spot.

When they discovered that the Texas Gulf Coast did not compare to the Florida beaches, they decided Texas wasn’t so cool.

Or maybe Texans decided to move to Florida.

Either way, the number two spot for leaving was filled with 29,191 people moving from Texas to Florida.

#3 Oklahomans

Oklahoma isn’t too far away from Texas — and we have superior barbecue. Maybe that’s why 25,096 Oklahomans arrived in Texas.

Somewhere along the way, they decided our barbecue wasn’t so good after all. In fact, they convinced more than 75 friends that the barbecue was better in Oklahoma.

When the smoked cleared, 25,175 left Texas for Oklahoma.

Net loss: 79 Texans turned Oklahomans.

#4 Louisianians & Coloradans

Louisiana folks thought that making a change from “The Big Easy” to “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” would be a good one.

23,805 Louisianians left to become Texans in 2014. But the amount of people that decided they needed to return to “The Big Easy” because they couldn’t live without jazz, Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignets wasn’t enough.

The number four spot was nabbed by Texans that couldn’t take the heat any longer. 24,431 Texans moved to Colorado to become Coloradans and trade summer heat for winter in the mountains.

#5 Illinoisans & Louisianians

Gallup released a stunning poll that shows 50 percent of Illinoisans want to leave the state.

When you decide to get out of Illinois, where do you go? Texas!

23,258 Illinoisans made the change to Texans. Will they also make the change from Chicago Bearans to Houston Texans? Not very likely.

Louisianians grabbed the number five spot when 21,516 left and headed back to the Louisiana bayou … or to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

How many people are really moving to Texas?

Texas followed Florida and landed at #2 in the U.S. for population gains from out-of-state residents in 2014, with 538,572 people moving to Texas from out of state.

After all the Texans, Californians, Floridians, Oklahomans, Louisianians, Coloradans and Illinoisans moved back and forth (along with all the other demonyms), Texas had a net gain of out-of-state residents.

The net number = 103,465 people

Other quick facts from the 2015 Texas Relocation Report:

• Texas ranked second in the nation for relocation activity in 2014
• U-Haul ranked Austin the No. 7 destination city in the United States.
• California and Florida were responsible for the largest number of residents moving to Texas in 2014.
• The most popular states for people leaving Texas in 2014 were California, Florida, and Oklahoma.
• The state the most new Texans came from was California (63,591), followed by Florida (40,930), Oklahoma (25,096), Louisiana (23,805) and Illinois (23,258).
• As with inbound residents, the most popular state for Texans to move to was California (38,990), followed by Florida (29,191), Oklahoma (25,175), Colorado (24,431), and Louisiana (21,516).
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with the highest gains in out-of-county residents (inflow of people): Two are in the Austin area (No. 4 Travis, No. 8 Williamson)
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with the largest net gains in out-of-county residents (net inflow of people): Three are in the Central Texas – Austin/San Marcos/Round Rock area (No. 2 Williamson, No. 4 Hays, No. 10 Travis)
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with the highest number of residents moving out of the county (outflow of people): Two are in the Austin area (No. 4 Travis, No. 9 Williamson)
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with the largest gain in out-of-state residents (inflow of out-of-state residents): Two are in the Austin area (No. 5 Travis, No. 10 Williamson)
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with the largest number of people leaving Texas (outflow of people to another state): One is in the Austin area (No. 6 Travis)
• Of the top 10 Texas counties with largest net gain in out-of-state residents (net inflow of people from out of state): Three are in Central Texas, including No. 3 Travis (Austin), No. 5 Williamson (Round Rock), No. 8 Bell (Temple, Killeen)

Travis County — Easy Come, Easy Go

No. 4 county for total inflow of people

No. 4 county for total outflow of people

No. 10 county for net inflow of people

No. 5 county for total out-of-state inflow of people

No. 6 county for total out-of-state outflow of people

No. 3 county for net out-of-state inflow of people

The Texas Relocation Report is based on data from the 2014 American Community Survey and the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau as well as the U-Haul 2014 National Migration Trend Reports. The report analyzes county relocation data for the 43 largest demographic areas in Texas.

Post image via Creative Commons, David Herrera on Flickr.