The exodus from more expensive states to Texas isn’t necessarily new, but it’s picked up even more steam over the past year.

According to the 2021 Texas Relocation Report, which was released by Texas Realtors, more than 500,000 people moved to the state in 2019.

That means that Texas is second as far as where people are moving to most in the U.S. The state also saw anywhere from 192,000 to 222,000 new residents from outside the U.S. in the same year.

Travel + Leisure just named Dallas-Fort Worth as one of the best places to retire in 2021 as well. California, on the other hand, saw the most residents move out in 2019.

Many Californians relocated to Texas, and other states that saw residents leaving for the Lone Star State included Louisiana, Illinois, Georgia, and Arizona.

The most popular counties for new residents are Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, and Bexar.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro and the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metros specifically have seen among the highest numbers of new residents coming in.

A different report from Redfin that was released in February of this year found that Dallas had the second biggest inflow of people in the country, ahead of even Austin.

LinkedIn job data also shows Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area have been attracting many professionals who wanted to relocate during the pandemic.

Why The Real Estate Boom?

There are likely quite a few factors playing a role in Texas’ continuing popularity among people looking for a new home state.

First, Texas is a low-cost state in terms of taxes. The Texas Constitution doesn’t allow for personal income taxes. Texas does have relatively high sales and use taxes, but still, it’s a reprieve for residents coming from high tax states like California and Illinois.

The result of people moving to Texas is that there are frequently bidding wars, and homes that would typically be on the market for months are getting multiple offers.

Inventory in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is at less than 30 days currently, and it’s a great time for sellers to jump in.

The Economy

It’s not just the appeal of low taxes relative to other states that’s appealing for people moving to Texas. There’s also an increasing infrastructure, and there are more jobs and opportunities than ever before in the state.

Some of the companies that have recently announced a move to Texas include Wayfair, Google, Samsung, Oracle, Tesla, and Hewlett-Packard, just to name a few. Some of these companies are just expanding operations to include an office in Texas, and others are going to be based there.

A Gain in Congressional Seats

It was recently announced that Texas would also gain two additional House seats because of its growth over the past decade.  Other states that gained include Montana, Colorado, Oregon, North Carolina and Florida.

Seven states lost a seat, including California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Texas Garners the Attention of a Celebrity Realtor

Finally, Bravo star Fredrik Eklund is now setting his sites on Texas. He’s been spotted around Highland Park Village as he’s working on building out a Texas headquarters for The Eklund-Gomes team. The firm already has a presence in Houston, but they’re now expanding to Austin and Dallas.