Nearly a million people applied for a new Texas driver’s license from 2018 to 2021. Most of them came from California.
TEXAS, USA — Californians are moving to Texas – but is it true? Let’s take a look at the numbers!
Mother and daughter Heather and Jillian Nickens are leaving their life in Orange County, California for a new one in Dallas.
“It’s just so expensive in California, I’m 24 and my rent is $1,000 just for a room, and I have a good job, and I just can’t get ahead there,” Jillian said. “I think we were ready for a different lifestyle and change of pace also.”
Heather and Jillian are the latest exiles in the mass migration from California to Texas.
“In about 2018 to 2019, that’s when home prices in Texas really began to go up, a lot. And that accelerated people moving to Texas,” said Bill Fulton, director of Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
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Fulton is also a transplant from California. He said he moved to Texas for a job opportunity and the cost of living.
“Within the cost of living, it’s the home price more than anything else,” he said.
Nearly a million people applied for a new Texas driver’s license from 2018 to 2021. Most of them, 161,456 to be exact, came from California, followed by Washington, Nevada and Oregon.
Harris County got the most, new residents, overall, from several states, including Florida and Louisiana.
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More than 112,000 people moved to Houston in those four years alone.
“It’s mostly about the home prices. Texas is viewed as a booming place. You can always get a job, you can always buy a house, at least for middle-class people,” Fulton said.
“Last year, Houston created 160,000 jobs. It was the best year on record,” Patrick Jankowski with the Greater Houston Partnership said. “Houston’s economy did very well last year and it’s continuing to expand even this year, so we should still see people moving to the region and new businesses opening up this year.”
Texas’ newest residents know the great attractions the state has to offer before they even hit the road, which is why they are making the move to the Lone Star State.
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