Exclusive: More Floridians, Californians moving to Texas than reverse

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

According to an analysis of migration data from the three most populous states, more Californians and Floridians are moving to Texas than Texans are moving to those states.

Overall, the majority of out-of-state movers relocating to Texas are leaving Democratic-led states that have higher state income taxes and more progressive tax policies than Texas has.

According to an analysis of moves over a 12-month period, based on PGM’s database of 18 million moves tracked between June 2024 and May 2025, more than 1.6 million adults moved to or within Texas during this timeframe.

Among them were 265,112 from out of state, averaging 22,092 a month, or 726 a day, according to the data.

The majority moving from out of state to Texas were from California (14%), Florida (9%), and Colorado (4.5%), representing nearly one-third of new Texas residents, according to the data. Movers from Arizona (3.8%) and Illinois (3.7%) rounded out the top five, according to the data.

When evaluating the data among the top three most populous states, more Californians and Floridians moved to Texas than the reverse, according to a breakdown of the data Hire A Helper exclusively provided to The Center Square.

More than double the number of Californians moved to Texas, 37,253, than Texans moved to California, 14,539, during the 12-month-period analyzed, according to the data.

Roughly one-third more Floridians moved to Texas, 24,378, than Texans moved to Florida, 15,650, over the same time period, according to the data.

According to a StorageCafe analysis, roughly 100,000 Californians have been moving to Texas a year – the equivalent of the population of Santa Barbara, The Center Square reported.

Similarly, roughly one-third more Californians moved to Florida, 16,457, than Floridians moved to California, 11,356, during the same 12 months, according to the data.

Of the moving demographics PGM analyzed, “Gen X and millennials made up 75% of new Texans, signaling a wave of professionals and families chasing opportunity, affordability, and a higher quality of life,” Hire A Helper said.

North Texas is the top moving destination, where business headquarters are relocating and Texas’ new stock exchange was launched, The Center Square reported.

Nearly 32% of those relocating moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington area during the timeframe analyzed, according to the data.

The Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands region received the next greatest percentage of new residents, nearly 21%; the Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos region received the third greatest of 13%, according to the data.

The majority of moves in Texas over the year were in-state, 84%, “with residents shuffling between metros for better housing and jobs,” according to the analysis.

Smaller cities in north Texas, including “Sherman–Denison (No. 5 for net gain), Tyler (No. 6 for net gain), and Granbury (No. 7 for net gain) are emerging as the next growth hotspots,” the report notes.

Texas counties saw a massive influx of residents from July 2023 to 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, The Center Square reported. Four of the top 10 counties reporting the greatest numeric growth and the greatest percentage growth in the U.S. were in Texas, according to the data.

Harris County, Texas, reported the greatest population growth in 2024, followed by Miami-Dade, Florida. By contrast, California’s largest county of Los Angeles reported losses, according to the census data.

Of the 10 counties reporting the greatest growth by percentage last year, four were in Texas. Two were in Florida, none were in California, according to the census data.

Hire A Helper data also confirms yearly census data, which shows more people are moving to southern states. When looking “at the sheer volume of people moving in minus people leaving,” states reporting the greatest number of new residents over the period analyzed were South and North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Florida, it said.

States where more residents left than entered are all run by Democrats: California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois, according to the data.

“While California certainly had people moving in [over the year analyzed], it saw an overall net decrease in residents, -128,470,” Hire A Helper said.

One key contributing factor is state income tax, the report notes. Three of the five states people are moving to have no state income tax: Texas, Tennessee and Florida. The five states experiencing an exodus have among the highest taxes in the country.