Who's Coming to Texas? Growth in U.S. Cities

PODS.com shows us a breakdown of the top cities in the United States who have experienced the highest growth in 2022. Last year's position on their list is noted in parentheses. 

WHERE ARE PEOPLE MOVING FROM? CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST MOVE-OUT NUMBERS

Just as important as knowing where people are moving to is knowing where people are moving from. 

California is home to three of the top 10 cities with the highest exodus of residents in 2021 and so far in 2022. In fact, the top two spots on the list are both in California — and, together, sport a total loss that’s nearly equal to the loss from the eight other cities on the list combined. Ouch!

High state taxes and cost of living, soaring real estate prices, and densely populated cities are likely contributors — not to mention the natural disasters which have unfortunately befallen the state recently, and the fact that the Golden State was one of those hit hardest by COVID-19.

In addition to California, New York State may feel like a no-brainer when it comes to loss of residents, given the headlines around a mass exodus from the New York metro area at the beginning of the pandemic. But once the dust settled, the number of New York City’s new residents outweighed the loss first reported. 

And surprisingly, data shows a high number of moves out of two secondary cities in New York state, possibly a result of people relocating after their initial pandemic moves out of NYC.

Something many of these cities have in common? They’re hubs for major industry employers, from technology to politics. Employers deciding to permanently adopt working remote policies may be one catalyst for the high number of moves out of these cities. Employees who no longer need to live in big cities or nearby commute cities have moved on to cities where they can enjoy a better, or similar, quality of life at a lower cost of living.

TEXAS IS HOME TO THE MOST “FAST RISER” CITIES

Texas made headlines during the beginning of the pandemic as the new home state to many of Hollywood and Silicon Valley’s elite, putting it on people’s radars as one of the best places to move in the U.S. A continued exodus from major coastal cities (particularly those in California) coincided with growth in Texan cities in 2021, leaving the Lone Star State with the second-highest number of transplants in 2021 (and so far in 2022). 

Taking the mantra of “Everything is bigger” to heart, Texas debuted four new cities on this year’s top 20 — with one newcomer city taking the number two spot. 

Top fast-riser cities in Texas include:     

• Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (#2) 
• Houston, TX (#12)
• San Antonio, TX (#13)
• Austin, TX (#16)

Again, taking a look at moving trends and patterns, it’s no surprise Texas is moving up in the ranks. Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio also offer up the promise of an affordable cost of living, plenty of sunshine, and access to nature and wide open spaces. Like Florida, Texas is also one of the nine U.S. states that doesn’t have state income tax, giving those who move there an additional budget boost. 

According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center, the housing market in Texas has surged with demand. High demand coinciding with lower housing inventory, particularly in more affordable price ranges, was a contributing factor to the high increase in housing prices seen here in the first half of 2021. Supply chain issues slowing new construction, coupled with the buying spree, caused housing inventory to decrease slightly in the second half of the year. 

Our four top 20-ranking Texas cities also saw an increase in new housing starts — new builds that were started but not necessarily completed — with numbers that jumped 29.6 percent in San Antonio, 28.3 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth, 12.6 percent in Houston, and 22.9 percent in Austin. And the overall home sales? They saw a six percent annual increase. 

Predictions expect the market to stay elevated through 2022, though not quite to the same levels as early 2021.  

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

Moving trends are just that: trends.Trends are great for knowing what other people are doing to better understand what makes the most sense for you. But think about it. Trending destinations are also some of the most volatile and, while they can be useful for predicting where you might want to move, they can be just as useful for predicting where you might not want to move. In other words, they’re great for informing your decision, but, ultimately, you should move to the place that checks all of your boxes. 

Trends are not rules and can change at any time, just like our circumstances. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about moving these last two years, it’s that sometimes (read: often) you need to be flexible. Surprises happen. That’s why it’s important to work with a moving company who understands flexibility. If your moving company isn’t flexible, you could end up wanting just a little more time to find your dream home in your dream town but stuck to a tight deadline.

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