Texas ranked second in the nation for relocation activity in 2015, according to the Texas Relocation Report released today by the Texas Association of REALTORS®. Analyzing statewide and national migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the report showed that Texas continues to be a high-demand destination for U.S. residents relocating across the country.
“The diverse job opportunities and high quality of life in Texas continue to drive in-state and out-of-state migration to Texas cities and counties, both big and small,” said Vicki Fullerton, 2017 chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. “This is the third consecutive year that Texas has gained more than 500,000 new residents from out of state.”
According to the report, Texas experienced a net gain of out-of-state residents in 2015, with 107,689 more people moving to Texas than Texas residents moving out of state. This is a 4 percent increase in the net gain of Texas residents from 2014 (103,465 residents).
The total number of residents moving to Texas from out of state in 2015 increased 2.8 percent year-over-year to 553,032 incoming residents. The highest number of new Texans came from California (65,546), followed by Florida (33,670), Louisiana (31,044), New York (26,287), and Oklahoma (25,555).
Texas once again ranked third in the nation for the number of residents moving out of state (445,343) in 2015. The most popular out-of-state relocation destinations for Texans were California (41,713), Florida (29,706), Oklahoma (28,642), Colorado (25,268), and Louisiana (19,863).
This is the first Texas Relocation Report to feature comparative relocation data by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and New York-Newark-Jersey City recorded the highest number of resident migrations to Texas in 2015. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington recorded the highest number of incoming residents from out-of-state (117,982), followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (101,604) and Austin-Round Rock (46,598).
At the county level, Harris County led the state with a net gain of 18,945 residents relocating to the county from out of state, but four of the top 10 counties with the highest net gain of residents from out of state were located in North Texas (Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties).
Fullerton concluded, “As thousands more people choose Texas to further their careers, grow their businesses and raise their families each year, the need for initiatives that protect our state’s affordability, mobility and economy become increasingly critical. In the upcoming legislative session, Texas REALTORS® will be actively advocating for sustainable, long-term policies that will support our state’s enduring population growth.”