SAN ANTONIO — Young people love Texas. So much so, in fact, that a new survey by The Zillow Group says more Gen Zers are moving to Texas than any other state.
The analysis, completed by The Zillow Group, used data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey. It found that Texas gained the most Gen Z movers year-over-year.
"Texas is really becoming a much more dynamic and up and coming state," said Ashley Massey, a global real estate advisor and author of "Fast Track Agent." "We've got our major cities Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and it's really just bringing a lot of people in with new job opportunities and new ways of life."
The Zillow study found Florida saw a net gain of about 41,000 Gen Zers and landed in third place. California came in second with 44,000.
But Texas was a huge draw for Gen Z, with 76,000 new residents born between 1996 and 2004.
When taking all age groups into account, Texas had the largest change in residents, adding 473,453 people in 2022 alone.
"A lot of it is people trying to get away from those more extreme weather situations, especially if we're looking at people moving from the north and from the east," Massey said.
So why are so many people moving to Texas? Some of the factors: job and economic opportunities, income tax savings, lack of a state tax and, most enticingly, a relatively low cost of living.
"Cost of living is huge when it comes to moving to a different state. So that drives a lot of people in, not only for cost of living, for rentals, for just general expenses, but then also the tax savings that comes from moving to the state," said Massey.
Out of the top four Texas cities to gain residents in 2022, San Antonio was the clear winner, adding close to 19,000 people that year. Second place was Houston, with only 11,000.
"I think that not only with the growth that we're seeing in the population, the restaurants, the entertainment scene that's coming up down there, I think we've got some really exciting things coming to San Antonio," Massey said.
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