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Everything's bigger in Texas, including the number of Californian transplants.
The University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University recently teamed up to release a study to answer the question as to why Californians move to Texas. Researchers compared the economic opportunities and quality of live in each state to understand why around 50,000 Californians per year relocate east.
It's because Texas is a cheaper place to live.
The study found that because Texas doesn't have an income tax, Texans pay far less in taxes compared to California residents. State and local tax revenue per capita in California were $7,326 per state resident versus $4,709 in Texas.
Homes are also much more affordable in Texas. The majority of homes across the state cost less than $200,000 while only 7.8% of Texas homes cost more than $500,000. The opposite is true for California, where 57.8% of houses cost $500,000 or more.
The study doesn't declare that one state is better than the other, but instead says "both Texas and California have much to celebrate in recent years."
It also points out that each state has its own issues. While California has a large homeless population and poor air quality, Texans are more likely to lack health insurance and the state has issues with its power supply.
Read the full study here.