Texas is experiencing a major boom that began long before its power grid was wiped out by the historic February winter storm.
The governor’s Economic Development and Tourism office said in September that there has been a “tremendous increase” in the number of companies since the pandemic’s arrival, with 237 relocation or expansion projects currently underway.
Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, last year. Tesla is also building its new Gigafactory there, and Apple will house its second largest campus in the Texas capital. The influx of Big Tech sparked conversations about the potential for Texas to become a business hub that could rival Silicon Valley.
CBRE and Charles Schwab have moved their California headquarters to the Dallas area in recent months, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is moving to Houston. Texas also attracted wealthy people like Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Dropbox CEO, Drew Houston, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.
But it’s not just the big companies and the wealthy who are moving to Texas. In 2020, Texas added more residents than any other state. This is at a time when California’s population and job growth have slowed to a trickle.
Watch the video above to hear those who are moving to Texas and longtime Texans about the reasons behind the trend and what it could mean for the state’s future.