Texas is experiencing a major boom that began long before the power grid was decimated by the historic winter storm in February.
The governor’s office for economic development and tourism said in September that there has been a “massive increase” in the number of businesses since the pandemic hit, with 237 relocation or expansion projects currently in the works.
Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas late last year. Tesla is also building its new Gigafactory there, and Apple will house its second-largest campus in the Texas capital. This influx of Big Tech has sparked rumors about Texas that it may become a business hub that could rival Silicon Valley.
CBRE and Charles Schwab have moved their headquarters from California to Dallas in recent months and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is moving to Houston. Texas has also attracted wealthy individuals such as Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Palantir Co-Founder Joe Lonsdale.
But it’s not just big corporations and the rich that are moving to Texas. In 2020, Texas added more residents than any other state. This is because California’s population and job growth have slowed down to a trickle.
Watch the video above to hear from those moving to Texas and old Texans about the reasons behind the trend and what it could mean for the future of the state.