Is moving to Texas falling out of fashion if you're a long-time Texan you probably
just took a swig of Shinerbach and said I hope so data is showing that the Lone Star
State isn't as much a relocation hot spot as it was a few years back today we look at why
out-of-staters might be losing interest in Texas got it get it good let's take a look
Texas is the third Texas system Texas is the fourth text screw it I'm just gonna wing it
Texas is the second most populous state in the U.S and the third most popular state or state to
state migration over the last two decades that may be coming to an end the Lone Star State has been
experiencing a significant slowdown in population growth over the last five years especially when
you look at the out-of-state migration according to the latest estimates by the U.S Census Bureau
the out-of-state population growth rate of Texas slowed down to 0.6 percent per year from 2017 to
2022 and that's compared to 1.7 percent from 2012 to 2017. those don't sound like big numbers but
when you're talking about a state this size they are the decline in population growth can
be attributed to a variety of different factors including changes in migration patterns economic
conditions people giving you the finger for having California license plates and demographic shifts
now let me be clear before we get rolling Texas is still growing in population the Lone Star State
will continue to grow for quite some time I'm sure it's just the amount of people from other
states or net domestic migration has dropped quite a bit per year in the last five years now when you
look at what's going on in Texas this decline in net migration can be attributed to a number
of factors but there's a few that really stand out lack of affordable housing cost of living
and increased traffic congestion in urban areas these are the same patterns many states have seen
before when they got popular California Oregon Florida New York Hawaii and even Arizona to a
degree they've all been through this same thing I know when you're sitting in a state like Texas or
something you think it's only happening to you no it's happened before people move around for
a better life and when too many people move to a place that is popular and is promising a better
life things get crowded and expensive I just mentioned this on a radio interview last month
human beings migrate they always will the main driver is survival back in the day we followed
herds we look for better shelters and migrated to warmer climates all in an attempt to better
our chances is of survival thousands of years later we're doing the same stuff but we've just
adapted to the world we live in today we don't follow the herds or game we follow companies and
jobs we don't look for better climate as much as we used to but we still look for better shelter in
the form of more affordable housing or better neighborhoods and that is why people move to
Texas for a long time they just wanted a better life better their chances of survival thing is
those things that Drew people into Texas aren't as appealing as they were a decade or two ago and one
of the biggest factors of those that's attributed to the Slowdown of population growth in Texas is
the impact of economic conditions on migration patterns Texas has long been known for its strong
economy with a bunch of different Industries like energy Healthcare technology and border patrol
agents apparently those are all good Industries and they've helped push this state along it's
just the state's economy has faced challenges in recent years including the impact of covet
19. this led to a decline in job opportunities and reduced economic growth as a result result
fewer people have been moving to Texas in search of job opportunities which has contributed to the
decline in the population growth now all states felt this but not all states were on everyone's
radar as a great place to go and get a fresh start like Texas was when a curveball like a
recession a depression or in this case a pandemic is thrown at a good economy it hurts a lot more
than when a curveball is thrown at an economy like Mississippi which really isn't much of an economy
another factor is the demographic shift this one really doesn't affect the state to state migration
as much it does have some residual to it but this is more focused on what's going on in the state
with their born and raised population as Texas population has age the birth rate has decreased
which has led to a decline in natural population growth Additionally the state has seen an increase
in the number of people moving out of Texas to retire or seek a more affordable cost living
elsewhere like I said it's been getting expensive in Texas it's expensive everywhere but when you
got a great account economy it gets a little expensive a little quicker than other states
this has led to a net outflow of older residents which has further contributed to the slowdown in
population growth now there's a few other factors that are a fraction of the population but they all
build up things like you have a child in Texas and you've been living there because you moved
there 10 years ago or your career now you have a family and a lot of people move back to where
they came from when they start a family and to piggyback on that during the pandemic a lot of
people got pregnant like I've said before when you're stuck inside with someone for a
really long time you start bumping uglies we don't marry and live together just for the conversation
one of the most notable and talked about factors is real estate in Texas there's only a few states
that have seen real estate prices climb as fast as Texas has now we're talking about an entire state
so it's really hard to get the prices narrowed down but there is an average for the state year
over year I'm just using this to show you how fast and how high the prices have gone in June
of 2012 the average home price for a three-bedroom house was two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars
five years later in June of 2017 it had climbed to 263 thousand so almost 50 000 in five years
that's not terrible in June of 2022 that price had climbed to 452 000. now obviously that's
just the averages you have multi-million dollar homes in Texas and Shacks that really aren't fit
for humans going for about fifty thousand dollars now those are great numbers if you're a realtor or
you're someone looking to sell a home that you bought in the 1980s but not so much if you're
moving to Texas and looking for some real estate whether it's residential or commercial real estate
can't overstate how big of a deal this is when prices climb that fast you start seeing some
serious changes in what's going on in the cities and the entire State really the cool thing about
Texas though out of all these problems they have crime isn't as big an issue as it is in other
states I mean they got Houston Houston's got some issues but that never seems to be a factor people
are taking in when they do or don't move to Texas not saying Texas has no crime whatsoever they just
don't have as much as comparable States I mean if you ask me Houston's kind of a nightmare I do
enjoy one thing there it's called the Crawfish critics Cookoff and Festival this year it's on
April 14th and 15th at Three Palms Action Park in Conroe Texas I always want to call it cornrow
don't know why and that little Festival is a perfect example about what's really good in Texas
there's always something to do they have amazing festivals events amusement parks museums historic
sites like the Alamo I spent an entire two days in San Antonio I was depressed that the river
was actually drained for cleaning the week I went but I didn't run out of things to do and that's
how it is with every major city in Texas even the smaller ones have amazing things to do I think if
their slowdown continues you'll really only see it in the big cities the smaller cities and towns
will continue to see people find their way into the community by real estate open up businesses
things like that Texas will always have potential where that potential is just might shift a little
bit over the decades in conclusion the slowdown in population growth in Texas can be attributed to a
combination of factors including the decline in the net migration the impact of cost Living Real
Estate and demographic shifts while Texas remains one of the fastest growing states in the U.S it's
important for policy makers and stakeholders to address these changes in order to maintain
the state's economic vitality and to make sure it remains an attractive destination for people
to live work and raise a family personally I think a little slowdown will help out the
state especially for the longtime residents or native Texans that might slow down the rise in
real estate prices and cost of living all right everyone have a great day be nice to each other