In its latest report, the Census Bureau indicated that about 8.2 million people moved between states in 2022. In 2021, the number was 7.9 million people. For its report, the bureau uses the terms “inmigration” or “outmigration” depending on movement in or out of a state.
When choosing where to move, Texas was the top destination for Californians. The Census Bureau indicates 102,442 people moved from California to Texas in 2022. No other state-to-state combo had as large a number of movers.
Another 74,157 Californians found new homes in Arizona and 50,701 moved across the country to Florida.
New York also saw a large outflux of residents, with the bulk moving to Florida (91,201) or New Jersey (75,103).
Reporting for the Census Bureau, Mehreen Ismail indicated that while Texas has the distinction of having the lowest outmigration rate among states, California was the most popular destination when Texans did leave.
“California had the lowest (11.1%) inmigration rate,” Ismail reported. “Despite a relatively large number of in-movers, California also had a relatively large base of movers overall, helping to explain the state’s low inmigration rate. Most (44,279) people moving to California arrived from Texas.”
A previous report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research indicated that Californian migration to Texas has been an ongoing trend due in large part to “low taxes, cheap houses and a low-regulation lifestyle.”
Census Bureau figures indicate Texas welcomed 494,077 inmigrants from across the country in 2022, including the more than 102,000 from California. In 2021, Texas saw an influx of 447,363 inmigrants, including 107,546 from California.
Where do Texans go or refuse to go?
When not heading to California, Texans chose Florida as their second favorite in 2022, with 38,207 relocating to the Sunshine State. Next on the list was Oklahoma with 26,440.
Fewer Texans headed out of the state in 2021, with California (33,577), Colorado (28,754) and Florida (28,243) being the top destinations.
In 2022, Texans were least likely to move to West Virginia, with just 580 relocations. Delaware was next with just 692 movers. Other states low on the list of places Texans headed include Maine (861) and South Dakota (832).
Houston population
The migration from other states has not had an impact on the city of Houston’s population, according to Census Bureau figures. Births, immigrants and inmigrants are factored into those estimates.
In its last estimate in 2022, Houston grew by just 1,306 people compared to its official count in the 2020 census. Meanwhile, Fort Worth leads the state in growth with an estimated 37,772 new residents, an increase of 4.1%. San Antonio gained 38,542 people and Austin saw an influx of 12,547 people.
Among the state’s largest cities, Dallas is the only one faring worse than Houston in population growth, with 4,773 fewer residents than in 2020 in the latest estimate.
While the city of Houston has not seen much growth, Harris County added an estimated 49,784 residents from the 2020 census to the 2022 estimate.
Fort Bend County to the southwest of Harris County gained an estimated 66,367 new residents, an increase of 8.1%. To the north, Montgomery County reported the strongest growth in the region with 58,039 new residents, an increase of 9.4%.
