Texas and California battle it out for most relocating residents, Census report says

by the numbers

The Texas/California pipeline works both ways, a new study reveals. Photo via Getty Images

Texans love to joke about how many Californians are moving here, but a rising trend in Texas residents' relocation habits may have Californians saying the same thing about Texans soon.

A new U.S. Census report analyzing state-to-state migration has revealed new estimates regarding Texas' growing population in 2022. According to the report, more than 668,000 new residents relocated to Texas from out-of-state last year.

Not surprisingly, the highest number of new Texans hailed from California. More than 102,000 Californians made the move to the Lone Star State in 2022.

But in a fun population twist, California also received the most Texpats in 2022, the report showed, followed closely behind by Florida, then Oklahoma. Of the 494,077 people who left Texas last year, 42,279 went to California.

Why Californians move to Texas
Californians often seek out a lower cost of living by moving to the most "affordable" cities in the state. Houston has shown to be at the top of the priority destination list; Dallas usurped Austin as the No. 1 city for California movers earlier this year. And when a California transplant can save more than $646,000 by moving to Texas and buying a home in Houston, it's not hard to see the appeal

Other reasons for the California-to-Texas exodus include the lack of income tax and the flexibility of remote work opportunities, they say.

While California took the lead with the most new movers flocking to Texas, Floridians are also choosing to pack up and leave their Sunshine State for the Lone Star State, the report says.

The top 5 states with the most residents moving to Texas in 2022 were:

  • California – 102,442 new residents
  • Florida – 41,747 new residents
  • New York – 30,890 new residents
  • Illinois – 25,272 new residents
  • Louisiana – 25,192 new residents

Where Texans are moving
The Census report showed that less than half a million Texas residents relocated out-of-state last year, totaling 494,077 people.

"Texas had the country's lowest (11.7 percent) outmigration rate, with most of those who did move relocating to California (42,479) or Florida (38,207)," the report said.

The top five states where Texans moved in 2022 were:

  • California – 42,279 Texans
  • Florida – 38,207 Texans
  • Oklahoma – 26,440 Texans
  • Colorado – 25,466 Texans
  • Georgia – 23,754 Texans

New Texans from abroad
In addition to state-by-state migration data, the report also provided estimates for how many new Texans came from abroad. Out of 237,051 new residents, the majority – 233,751 people – relocated from outside the mainland last year.

About 2,441 people moved from Puerto Rico, and 859 arrived from unspecified U.S. island areas.

Texas has been a magnet for international homebuyers for several years. The state has held its position as the third hottest U.S. housing market for international homebuyers for the fourth consecutive year in 2023. A total of 9,900 Texas homes were purchased by buyers from outside the U.S last year, spending a gigantic sum of $4.3 billion.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

These could all be Californians for all we know. Photo via Local.AllState.com

Californians moving to Houston can save up to $646,000, study finds

money moves

Does it seem that Californians really are everywhere here in Houston? Here's why: A report by online storage finding platform StorageCafe has revealed just how much money the average Californian saves by taking on the title of transplant and relocating to the Lone Star State.

And more people from Los Angeles and Contra Costa counties are choosing Houston over any other area in Texas.

The migration report, which was released this summer by StorageCafe, states about 111,000 people moved to Texas from the Golden State in 2021, while only 33,000 Texans made the opposite move to California that same year.

The reasons why so many are flocking to Texas seem obvious: the lack of income tax, a lower cost of living, and the rise of remote work flexibility. These factors proved to be vastly important for millennials, who made up a majority of the transplants (46 percent).

Californians looking for a permanent Texas home can save hundreds of thousands of dollars by turning to Houston's booming housing market, where median home prices cost about $403,490.

With homes in San Diego ringing up for nearly $870,000, transplants can save $466,278 by buying a house in Houston. The Californians that save the most money on a new house hail from Orange County, where median prices cost over a million dollars. They can save $646,510 by purchasing a Houston home.

Renting an apartment in Houston is another financially advantageous move for California transplants, and will get them a larger space than what they can find in their home state. Rent prices in major California cities like San Diego and Los Angeles easily cost more than $2,600 a month, which is a far cry from Houston's median rent price of $1,336 per month.

Even for that amount of money, renters relocating to Houston from Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties can easily find apartments that are over 500 square feet bigger.

StorageCafe's sister site Yardi Matrix's business intelligence manager Doug Ressler gave his thoughts in the report about the major factors that keep motivating Californians to make that move to Texas.

"Inflation continues to be a major concern, putting a financial strain on many people as they spend more of their income on typical expenses," he said. "As a result, moving to places that are easier on the wallet seems like the obvious solution, with many people crossing city and state lines to find a more suitable place to live."

The trend is not likely to slow down anytime soon, either.

"Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the movement of people leaving California for Texas has been well established," Ressler said. "No other state has sent more migrants to Texas than California during this time. The continual soaring housing prices and cost of living in California and much greater affordability in Texas is likely to sustain the significant flows of Californians toward Texas in the coming decades."

The study's findings were determined using census data between 2017 and 2021 from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA) tool. Home pricing information was found using data from real estate platform Point2.

The full study can be found on storagecafe.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston regenerative medicine company expands lab for future trials

new digs

A Houston regenerative medicine company has unveiled new laboratory space with the goal of expanding its pioneering science.

FibroBiologics uses fibroblasts, the body’s most common type of cell, rather than stem cells, to help grow new cells. Fibroblasts are the primary variety of cells that compose connective tissue. FibroBiologics has found in studies that fibroblasts can be even more powerful than stem cells when it comes to both regeneration and immune modulation, meaning they could be a more versatile way forward in those fields.

In 2023, FibroBiologics moved into new lab space in the UH Technology Bridge. Now, with its new space, the publicly traded company, which has more than 240 patents issued or pending, will be even better equipped to power forward with its research.

The new space includes more than 10,000 square feet of space devoted to both labs and offices. The location is large enough to also house manufacturing drug product candidates that will be used in upcoming trials. Additionally, the company reports that it plans to hire additional researchers to help staff the facility.

“This expansion marks a transformative step forward for our company and our mission,” Pete O’Heeron, FibroBiologics founder and CEO, said in a news release. “By significantly increasing the size of our lab, we are creating the space and infrastructure needed to foster greater innovation and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.”

The streamlined, in-house manufacturing process will reduce the company’s reliance on external partners and make the supply chain simpler, O’Heeron added in the release.

Hamid Khoja, the chief scientific officer for FibroBiologics, also chimed in.

“To date, our progress in developing potentially transformative therapeutic candidates for chronic diseases using fibroblasts has been remarkable,” she added in the release. “This new laboratory facility will enable further expansion and acceleration of our research and development efforts. Additionally, the expansive new space will enable us to bring in-house currently outsourced projects, expand our science team and further contribute to the increased efficiency of our R&D efforts.”

This news arrives shortly after a milestone for the company in its research about neurodegenerative disease. Last month, fibroblast treatments in an animal model study demonstrated a notable regeneration of the myelin sheath, the layer that insulates nerves and is worn down by disease.

“Confirming remyelination in a second validated animal model is an important step in our research and development efforts, offering fresh hope for patients with demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis,” O’Heeron added in a separate release. “These findings advance our mission to develop transformative fibroblast-based therapies that address the root causes of chronic disease, not just their symptoms, and reflect our dedication to pushing the frontiers of regenerative medicine."

Pharmaceutical giant looks to bring $5.9 billion facility to Houston

in the works

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company is looking to build a $5.9 billion active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Houston, according to a recent filing with the state of Texas.

The proposal states that the project plans to employ 604 full-time direct employees at the site upon ramp-up completion. These would include operations technicians, production specialists, maintenance support, quality control/assurance, engineering, administration, and management. Construction is projected to begin in 2026, with a completion target of 2030 and commercial operations beginning in 2031.

If completed, Lilly would purchase 236 acres at Houston’s Generation Park from McCord Development, the commercial development’s owner. The purchase would include multiple buildings, outdoor facilities, infrastructure buildout, and equipment installation.

This proposed Texas plant would be part of Lilly’s $27 billion effort to expand its U.S. production capacity, which was announced in February and includes construction on four new facilities in America. Lilly has previously referred to the plants as “mega sites.”

"This represents the largest pharmaceutical expansion investment in U.S. history," Lilly CEO David Ricks said during the February news conference.

The company has applied for school tax abatements under the new Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation program, according to reports from the Houston Business Journal. This incentive program allows school districts to limit the taxable value of a property for a portion of school taxes, which could save companies millions of dollars on a large portion of property tax bills. It also gives a 10-year tax cut for new manufacturing and development facilities, as long as there is localized job creation.

Houston airports poised for 1.3 million travelers on Memorial Day weekend

Taking Off

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) are estimated to see 1.3 million travelers during the Memorial Day period (May 20 - May 28). Despite large crowds, the airports say they have prepared with multiple new improvements designed to slow traffic and make check-ins easier.

“Air travel drives jobs, business and tourism — and this summer, Houston Airports is powering that growth,” said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports.

“From streamlined security to a smarter website to new flights and fresh amenities, we’re delivering improvements that support Mayor Whitmire’s call for a more user-friendly Houston. These upgrades aren’t just about moving people — they’re about moving our economy forward.”

IAH in particular has seen remarkable drops in wait times thanks to the new IAH International Arrivals Curb. Part of the $1.458 billion IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program (ITRP), it reduced airport traffic during the Christmas holidays by a whopping 99 percent, with the average wait time reaching only two minutes. Other improvements include TSA Precheck enrollment pods at both airports and the agility for international travelers to recheck bags without leaving the terminal after they have passed through customs.

The amount of travelers expected for Memorial Day is slightly below 2024 numbers, but Houston Airports expects record-breaking travel over the summer. Current estimates show 19.5 million people moving through both airports through Labor Day, a 250,000 increase over last year. Part of this can be attributed to IAH's increasing status as the gateway to Mexico, Central America, and South America, running nonstop flights to new tourist hot spots like Puerto Escondido.

In additions to streamlining the flight processes, Houston Airports are expanding concession and shop offerings. Hobby recently opened The Rustic, Chick-fil-A, Pei Wei, and Throughgood Bistro. Bush added Hip & Humble, a boutique gift and souvenir seller focused on the items for women travelers and those looking for a little luxury when they return home. And, as always, Houston Airports have some of the finest art in the country. All of it together makes traveling to and from the city much less stressful than the big crowds would portend.

"We’re ready to welcome millions with efficiency and a warm Houston spirit,” said Szczesniak. “This summer, travelers will see and feel the difference we’ve made.”

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

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