Texas Was the Second Most Moved-To State of 2020

While many of us have been spending more time at home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there were plenty of people out there pulling up stakes and finding a new place to settle down.

Surprise, surprise - a significant number of them were moving to Texas. In fact, data collected by move.org indicates that Texas was the second most moved-to state in 2020.

The folks at move.org used proprietary data, US Census Bureau statistics, and the results of surveys they conducted to rank both the states most people were moving to and the states most people were leaving.

Florida came in first place for most moved-to, but was also the fourth most moved-away-from. Texas was the second most moved-to, but the third most moved-away-from.

I know what you're thinking: What about California? After all, the phrase "Don't California My Texas!" ain't a popular one for nothin'.

It turns out California is the third most move-to state, but the #1 state people were moving away from.

Weird how that works.

Interestingly enough, the UK's Daily Mail recently reported that Austin was the U.S. city with the most newcomers in 2020. Dallas was ranked #7. If you suspected that most transplants to Texas are looking to weird it up in Austin, it looks like you win the giraffe.

Both Elon Musk and Oracle Corp have moved to the Lone Star State this year, and they aren't alone. DropBox CEO Drew Houston recently bought a home in Austin, and both legal record management software company FileTrail and online survey software firm QuestionPro moved their operations to Texas' capital city in 2020.

Texas has traditionally been an intensely business-friendly state, and its COVID-19 restrictions have not been as strict as those in other states. That latter point was one that prompted Elon Musk's move to Texas, and he's been encouraging others to move here too.

Now the question becomes this: How much of Texas' character and culture may change as a result of the influx of new people?

Time will tell.