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Relocation Advice
Everyone seems to have a take on the California-to-Texas migration story lately. The narrative du jour is that the wave is crashing — that Californians are packing up their pickup trucks and heading back west. But when you dig into the actual data, the story looks a lot more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
Yes, some people are leaving. But most aren't. And Texas? It's still building, still growing, and still attracting serious, purposeful movers. Let's get into it.
Between 2018 and 2022, nearly 90,000 Californians moved to Texas every single year, according to five-year census data. That made the California-to-Texas corridor one of the largest state-to-state migration flows in the entire country. In 2022 alone, over 100,000 people made the move — more than any other state.
The reasons were straightforward: no state income tax, bigger homes, more affordability, more space, and fewer regulations. Texas's already-booming economy made it even more attractive. And when remote work exploded during the pandemic, Texas became a go-to destination for people fleeing high-density cities and five-figure rent bills.
Cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston felt the surge immediately. Home prices climbed. New construction took off. California license plates were everywhere. What started as a trend became a cultural movement — a lifestyle reset, a path to financial freedom.
Fast forward to today, and yes, some of those who made the move are heading back or moving on. It's not a mass exodus, but it's real, and the reasons are worth understanding if you're considering a move yourself.
Texas heat isn't just hot — it's relentless. In 2023, Austin experienced 45 consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees, one of the longest heat waves on record. And it's not only the heat. It's the humidity. It's the flying cockroaches (yes, they're real, and yes, they fly). It's the mosquitoes. It's stepping outside and immediately regretting it.
And it's not just summer. In May 2024, central Texas was hit with a violent storm system — 77 mph winds, flooding, golf ball-sized hail, and over 60,000 homes lost power. For Californians accustomed to coastal breezes and mild, consistent weather, that kind of climate whiplash can feel genuinely overwhelming.
This one catches people off guard more than almost anything else. Texas has no state income tax — and that's real money back in your pocket. But there's a trade-off: property taxes are high, and unlike California, there's no Prop 13 to cap how much your assessed value can rise each year.
Your property tax bill can increase annually based on market value. According to the Houston Chronicle, many Texas homeowners now pay $6,000 to $7,000 a year or more — and that figure is climbing, driven in part by extreme weather risks that are also pushing insurance premiums higher. For some buyers, those costs alone can cancel out the savings they expected from leaving California.
Austin has a well-earned reputation as a progressive enclave, but Texas state law is a different story. From reproductive rights and healthcare access to LGBTQ+ protections and education policy, the legal landscape in Texas looks very different from California. That gap can create real friction in daily life — not just in theory, but in lived experience.
Church culture here tends to be bigger, more traditional, and often more politically engaged than what many Californians are used to. For some transplants, that's a welcome shift. For others, it's a constant reminder of how different the cultural environment really is.
People miss things they didn't anticipate missing: the beach, walkable neighborhoods, wine country weekend trips, the Pacific Ocean. In Texas, a car isn't just convenient — it's essential. Public transit is limited across most of the metro. The outdoor lifestyle that Texas offers is genuinely great, but it's heavily season- and time-dependent. The Gulf Coast is beautiful, but it's not the Pacific.
This one hit a lot of people hard. Many Californians moved to Texas assuming remote work was a permanent arrangement. Then came the all-company email — the one asking employees to return to headquarters two days a week, then full-time. Suddenly, living in Austin or the suburbs while being employed by a Bay Area tech company no longer made logistical sense. Some people had to choose between their job and their new home, and the job won.
Here's where the real story diverges from the popular narrative. The idea that Texas is experiencing a reversal — that people are flooding back to California — simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
What's changed isn't whether people are moving to Texas. It's how they're approaching the decision. The new wave of Texas movers is asking sharper questions before they pack a single box:
These aren't the questions people were asking in 2020. The pandemic-era mover was often chasing a feeling — freedom, space, affordability. Today's mover has done the homework. They've run the numbers. They're choosing Texas for what it actually is, not for what a social media post promised it would be.
It's worth talking about the people who made the move and never looked back. Not because Texas is perfect — it's not — but because it worked for their lives in ways that mattered.
They've adapted to the weather. They've navigated the property tax system. They found more space, more purchasing power, and a lifestyle that genuinely fits them. For many, it wasn't just about affordability. It was about owning a home, starting a business, being closer to family, or finding real, tangible community — the kind where neighbors show up when the power goes out.
That community piece is something that surprised a lot of transplants in the best possible way. Texas has a culture of showing up for each other, and that's something that doesn't translate well in a tweet or a YouTube comment section.
The California-to-Texas migration story has matured. It's no longer a panic move or a hype cycle. It's a purposeful decision made by people who've weighed the real trade-offs and decided Texas works for their goals.
Some people leave — and that's legitimate. The reasons are real: the heat, the property taxes, the politics, the lifestyle adjustments. Anyone considering a move should take those factors seriously.
But the data is clear: Texas still leads in net migration, home construction, and business growth. Most people who moved here are still here. And more people are still coming — just with clearer eyes and better questions.
That's not a failed migration story. That's a migration story that grew up.
Expert in: Relocation Advice
Austin real estate expert helping families find their perfect home in the Texas Hill Country.
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Angie Ufomata
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