Texas has seen a huge migration movement in recent years as Americans have flocked to live within its borders. While the Lone Star State has a lot of positives it can brag about, there are some aspects of the state that aren’t all sunshine and roses.
In fact, some of these aspects are huge reasons why many Americans refuse to ever live in Texas.
People Are Leaving Texas In Their Thousands
It is not just a case of Americans refusing to live in Texas. In some counties, more people are moving out than moving in.
As of 2023, Dallas County has recorded 4,300 people to the Census, but this is just because there were twice as many births than death. The 39,000 births are the only reason for any population growth. More people left Dallas than arrived, with 23,330 U.S. nationals heading elsewhere.
Who Is Leaving Texas?
While Texas might be the ideal place for boomers and retirees, the people leaving Texas tend to be younger, blue-collar workers.
Business Insider reported that the typical profile of a Texan emigrant is an unmarried millennial or Gen-Zer. On average, the people moving out of the state make just over $50,000 a year, with Florida, California, and Oklahoma being the most popular destinations for those leaving.
High Property Taxes
When people move to Texas from, say, California, they often explain that they’ve moved because Texas is a low-taxed state. While that is true — Texas doesn’t have any state income tax — that doesn’t mean the state doesn’t have any taxes.
Many don’t know that Texas has incredibly high property taxes. In fact, some of these property taxes are the highest in the entire country. That alone has made some decide not to move to the state.
High Cost of Living
Many Californians have claimed they’ve decided to move to Texas because it’s cheaper to live there. That may be true. However, many have still struggled to truly thrive in Texas, as its overall cost of living has gone up recently.
Certain areas of the state, such as parts of Dallas, have also completely priced out working-class families.
Low Wages
Unfortunately, Texas has a low minimum wage when compared to the national average. The state hasn’t raised its minimum wage since 2009, and lawmakers have given no indication that they plan to do so anytime soon.
Americans have chosen to move to other states where they might make more money, as they can’t do that in Texas.
Uneven Distribution of Wealth
You may have heard that states like California and New York have a terribly uneven distribution of wealth. There are incredibly rich people in the state — and then incredibly poor people in the state.
However, Texas is also very uneven when it comes to socioeconomics. Many corporations and wealthy people thrive in the state while poorer families greatly struggle. This fact has made many working-class people choose to live elsewhere.
Transport Is Not Reliable For Those Who Need It
For those who rely on public transport to get around, Texas might not be the place to go.
While public transit is particularly challenged in rural areas, Arlington is the largest city in the nation without a fixed-route public transit system. With one quarter of Americans living with a disability, the lack of public transport in Texas could leave millions isolated in their homes.
Traffic Is A Serious Disadvantage To Texan Living
Traffic jams are a common occurrence. For those who are not willing to take part in Southern slow living, Texas may not be the place for you.
Texas also had more motor vehicle accidents than any other state. In fact, driving in Permian Basin in western Texas is more dangerous than in the rest of the state, where 15 crashes per 1,000 are fatal compared the seven per 1,000 state average.
Bad Drinking Water
Texas holds both massive cities and many small rural towns. Sadly, many of these areas don’t have the best drinking water.
Those in rural areas choose to not drink their tap water, as it’s not very healthy for them. Other Americans have seen this and chosen to avoid ever moving to Texas.
Majority Of Texans Do Not Trust Their Water Quality
It is mostly those in low-income communities in Texas who are concerned about the quality of their drinking water. According to Texas Water Trade, 61% of those surveyed do not think their water is safe to drink.
Sharlene Leurig, CEO of Texas Water Trade, said Texans may feel this way because the water is truly unsafe or because it does not meet other standards like tasting fresh, or not being discolored.
Pollution
Unfortunately, parts of Texas have major air pollution. Dallas is one of the most polluted cities in the entire United States.
As no one really wants to live in an area where they’ll have to deal with pollution, this fact has caused many Americans to choose to live in other states where this isn’t a problem.
Dallas Is One Of The Most Polluted Cities In The Country
As one of the cities with the worst air quality in the country, Dallas is currently putting 1.5 million at risk of health problems due to exposure to particulate pollution.
Reasons behind the high rate of air pollution range from unregulated industrialization to the number of personal cars on the road every day. But to those who are vulnerable to respiratory illnesses because of poor air quality, can you blame them for leaving?
Heatwaves Are On The Rise In Texas
Heatwaves are not only uncomfortable to endure, they can also be dangerous for children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people. Because of climate change, the heat will probably continue to rise in Texas.
Over the last decade, there were more than 1,600 days when a heat record was matched or broken at one of 22 weather stations throughout Texas. That is 1,000 more days than the 561-day average in decades prior.
Air Conditioning And Heating Are Less Affordable
The energy capital of the U.S., Houston, is formidable when it comes to unbearable heatwaves.
Electricity prices in Houston are up by 16% compared to last year and in 2022, residents paid twice as much for electricity comparted to pre-pandemic prices. Some Texans refuse to switch on the air conditioner in the summer or would “rather it be really cold” than get hit with a huge bill.
The Weather
Texas is a huge state, so different parts of the region get different types of weather throughout the seasons. Regardless, the state is known to be a rather hot one — and it’s only been getting hotter.
The scorching summers — that often are a combination of high heat, merciless sunshine, and unbearable humidity — have made many think twice about moving to Texas. Expensive utility bills during these hot summer months have also made people decide to steer clear of Texas living.
Tornadoes
Nobody really likes to live in an area where natural disasters are known to happen. Those who live in the central and northern parts of Texas choose to do so because they love the area… even though it does come with tornadoes.
The idea of having to deal with tornadoes multiple times a year is enough to make some Americans swear they’ll never move to Texas.
Tornadoes Are Becoming More Complex
While residents can hope that tornado seasons will vary annually, Texas has started the year with a brutal spike in tornadoes.
Texas averages 137 tornadoes a year, but by the end of June 2024, the state had already been hit by 124 tornadoes. Because of climate change, tornado behavior will become more complex as when they hit and duration will start to change.
Below-Par Education System
Texas is a huge state. So, its education system can vary from county to county. However, many in Texas have criticized the state’s school system, as school funding remains unevenly distributed.
This often results in lower-income areas having a below-par education system. Those with families have seen this and decided to raise their kids elsewhere.
Taxes Are Not Funding Public Schools
In a state with inordinately high taxes, you expect services provided by the state to be of a high quality, at the very least.
However, due to the uneven distribution of wealth, Texan law has a recapture mechanism wherein the state pockets surplus revenue from property tax. The result is that parents who are paying more and more in property tax will not see their money funding public schools.
Gun Violence Is Threatening Texan Youths
In 2020, gunshots became the leading cause of death for Texas youths. The amount of minors killed by guns rose from 100 in 2012 to nearly 300 in 2022.
Black and Hispanic youths are twice as likely to be victims of gun-related homicides as their white counterparts. While this is a multifaceted issue that cannot be solved overnight, raising a family in Texas is not for the faint of heart.
Slow Living
You may have heard that everything in the South moves slower. In many areas of Texas, this is true. The hot weather, among other things, has often resulted in many Texans moving at a slower, more leisurely, pace.
While you might get the hustle and bustle in cities like Dallas and Houston, much of Texas has a more relaxed lifestyle where they champion activities like fishing and hanging out with friends on their porches. For some, this isn’t the lifestyle they’re looking for.
Politics
The ongoing red-state versus blue-state battle will likely persist for the foreseeable future. Some may have chosen to move to Texas as they’ve fled a blue state. However, the same is also true.
Some Texans have fled the state to go somewhere where it’s less conservative. Other Americans have sworn they’ll never move to the state because of its very Republican politics.
Politics In Texas Had Become More Divisive
The Republican Party in Texas has changed. Fellow Republicans are infighting over a range of issues from the impeachment of Dade Phelan, the Speaker of the House to the role undocumented migrants play in Republican campaigns.
Former GOP state representative in the Texas House, Burt Solomons, said the Republic Party has become a “cult” that “slowly went away from a lot of those traditional values of the Republican Party”.
