We Texans like to think that people who aren't born here get here as fast as they can. And, for the most part, we are right: According to the 2014 Texas Relocation Report put out by the Texas Association of Realtors, the Lone Star State leads the nation in relocation activity — in and out. But mostly in.
According to the report, Texas ranked No. 1 in out-of-state resident gains, with 584,034 people moving to Texas from elsewhere in 2013. A majority of these residents originated from California (66,318), followed by Florida (32,619), Oklahoma (29,169), Louisiana (29,042) and Illinois (28,900).
“Texas’ reign as the top ‘domestic migration destination’ in the nation continues to be fueled by unprecedented economic growth,” said Dan Hatfield, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, in a release. “There are few states that can match the Lone Star State’s current job opportunities, multi-industry growth and residential quality of life. Whether you live in a major metro area or in a small town, Texas is a great place to do business and build a home.”
According to the report, Texas ranked No. 1 in out-of-state resident gains, with 584,034 people moving to Texas from elsewhere in 2013.
Not everyone is keen on staying here, however: Texas also ranked third in the nation for number of residents moving out of state in 2013 (409,977). That said, people are getting out of California (581,689) and Florida (423,995) faster. Behind Texas was New York (401,440) and Illinois (304,674).
We appear to be trading residents, because the majority of Texans who moved out of state went to California (32,290), followed by Oklahoma (27,391), Florida (24,226), Colorado (23,490) and Louisiana (21,747). However, overall, Texas had a net gain of out-of-state residents in 2013, with 138,057 more people moving here than moving out.
The 2014 Texas Relocation Report also shows five-year migration data (2008-2012) on a county-by-county basis for counties within the top 43 designated market areas in Texas. Harris, Dallas and Tarrant counties took the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots, respectively, for overall inflow and outflow of out-of-county residents.
However, when it comes to net gains and losses, Denton County took the prize for highest net gains in out-of-county residents (13,754), while Dallas was the biggest loser, posting a net loss of 25,461 residents. Harris County came in second on the loss side behind Dallas.
The report also looked the counties based on out-of-state activity. Again, Harris and Dallas counties took the top two slots for outflow of residents to other states; Harris County was also No. 1 in terms of out-of-state residents coming in. Tarrant County ranked second in out-of-state resident inflow; Dallas landed at No. 8. Travis County ranked third for incoming out-of-state residents and sixth for out-of-state bound people.
In terms of net gains of out-of-state residents, Harris, Tarrant and Travis counties took the top three spots; Dallas was No. 8. As far as net losses were concerned, no North Texas counties fell in the top 10.
Here is a snapshot of Dallas County stats:
- No. 2 county for total inflow of people
- No. 2 county for total outflow of people
- No. 43 county for net inflow of people
- No. 3 county for total out-of-state inflow of people
- No. 2 county for total out-of-state outflow of people
- No. 8 county for net out-of-state inflow of people
The Texas Relocation Report is based on data from the 2013 American Community Survey and the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by the U.S.Census Bureau as well as the U-Haul 2013 National Migration Trend Reports.
Dallas County was right behind Harris County in number of residents moving out of state.
