Why Nine States Are Gaining Residents From Texas
Per U.S. News’s reporting on Census Bureau state-to-state migration flows data, Texas was the top source of new residents for nine other states in the 2024 flows: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. That is a notably wide reach for a single source state, residents leaving Texas turning up as the largest in-migration source for states as geographically and economically different as Alaska and California.
For a wholesaler working a destination market, that kind of migration data is a way to understand where new buyer and renter demand is actually coming from, which shapes what kind of inventory that market needs and who is likely to be house-hunting or apartment-hunting in it.
Which Sunbelt States Are Growing Fastest
Census Vintage 2025 population estimates, as reported, show Texas adding the most residents in absolute numbers, 391,243, followed by Florida (196,980) and North Carolina (145,907). By growth rate rather than raw count, the ranking shifts: South Carolina grew fastest at 1.5%, ahead of Idaho (1.4%), North Carolina (1.3%), and Texas (1.2%). That distinction matters, a state can add the most people in absolute terms while growing more slowly, percentage-wise, than a smaller state adding fewer people overall.
One caveat worth stating plainly: these Vintage 2025 population figures measure total population change, including births and deaths (natural change) alongside migration, not migration in isolation. A state’s growth rate reflects both people moving in and its existing population’s births outpacing deaths, so it should be read as a total-growth signal rather than a pure measure of how many people packed up and moved there. That migration data also lines up with a broader national pullback in investor buying: overall investor home purchases fell roughly 23% year over year in Q1 2026 to just over 236,000 homes nationally, with small investors owning 1 to 10 properties accounting for 96% of that activity, not large institutions, so a Sunbelt market drawing steady in-migration is exactly the kind of market where that shrinking investor pool is still concentrating.
The Numbers
Texas was the top source of new residents for nine other states in the Census Bureau’s 2024 state-to-state migration flows: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
U.S. News, reporting on Census Bureau state-to-state migration flows
Texas added the most residents in absolute terms in the Census Vintage 2025 estimates at 391,243, followed by Florida (196,980) and North Carolina (145,907).
U.S. News, reporting on Census Vintage 2025 population estimates
By growth rate, South Carolina grew fastest at 1.5% in the Vintage 2025 estimates, ahead of Idaho (1.4%), North Carolina (1.3%), and Texas (1.2%).
U.S. News, reporting on Census Vintage 2025 population estimates
Investor home purchases fell roughly 23% year over year in Q1 2026 to just over 236,000 homes nationally, with small investors owning 1 to 10 properties accounting for 96% of that activity.
Sources
The external data in this article draws on the sources below. Figures described in the text as estimates or industry triangulations are directional and are not attributed to a single dataset.
- U.S. News, reporting on Census Bureau migration and population data
- The Real Deal, "Real Estate Investor Home Purchases Drop In Q1 2026," citing a CJ Patrick Company analysis of BatchData data