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2013-05-30 07:58:08
By Tom Geoghegan BBC News, Washington
Half of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the US are in Texas, according to new
figures. Why?
Every way you look at it, there are a lot of people moving to Texas.
Five of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the country between 2011 and 2012 were
in Texas, according to new figures from the US Census Bureau. New York is way
out in front in terms of added population, but Houston is second with San
Antonio and Austin fourth and fifth.
Graph showing fastest growing cities
In terms of percentage growth, it's even more Texas, Texas, Texas. Among the
five cities that grew most, as a proportion of their size, between 2011 and
2012, three are Texan. San Marcos is out in front with the highest rate of
growth among all US cities and towns - 4.9%.
Some of this Texan population boom is due to a natural increase - more births
than deaths - but the numbers moving into the state from elsewhere in the US
and from abroad far outstrip every other American state. Why?
1. Jobs
"I don't think people go for the weather or topography," says Joel Kotkin,
professor of urban development at Chapman University in Orange, California.
"The main reason people go is for employment. It's pretty simple.
Most new arrivals 2011-12
Texas: 210,590
N Carolina: 60,106
Virginia: 40,844
"The unconventional oil and gas boom has helped turn Texas into an economic
juggernaut, particularly world energy capital Houston, but growth has also been
strong in tech, manufacturing and business services."
Critics have questioned whether the "Texas miracle" is a myth, based on cheap
labour and poor regulation.
But Kotkin says Texas has plenty of high-wage, blue-collar jobs and jobs for
university graduates, although people looking for very high-wage jobs would
probably head to Seattle, San Francisco and New York.
Four of the top 10 metropolitan areas for job growth in 2013 are in Texas,
according to Kotkin's website, New Geography.
Texas also has a huge military presence, which grew as defence spending
increased in the decade after 9/11. Many retired Texans first came to the state
as service personnel.
2. It's cheaper
Once employed, it's hugely important that your pay-check goes as far as
possible, says Kotkin.
Fastest growing cities in US (%)
1: San Marcos, Texas (4.91)
2: South Jordan, Utah (4.87)
3: Midland, Texas (4.87)
4: Cedar Park, Texas 4.67)
5: Clarktown, Tenn (4.43)
6: Alpharetta, Georgia (4.37)
7: Georgetown, Texas (4.21)
8: Irvine, California (4,21)
9: Buckeye, Arizona (4.14)
10: Conroe, Texas (4.01)
US Census Bureau, 2011-12
"New York, LA and the [San Francisco] Bay Area are too expensive for most
people to live, but Houston has the highest 'effective' pay-check in the
country."
Kotkin came to this conclusion after looking at the average incomes in the
country's 51 largest metro areas, and adjusting them for the cost of living.
His results put three Texan areas in the top 10.
Houston is top because of the region's relatively low cost of living, including
consumer prices, utilities and transport costs and, most importantly, housing
prices, he says.
"The ratio of the median home price to median annual household income in
Houston is only 2.9. In San Francisco, it's 6.7.
"In New York, San Francisco and LA, if you're blue-collar you will be renting
forever and struggling to make ends meet. But people in Texas have a better
shot at getting some of the things associated with middle-class life."
Texans who've left their mark on the world
Composite image showing, from left: Roy Orbison, Joan Crawford, Jayne Mansfield
and George W Bush
Roy Orbison (pictured, first) was born in the small town of Vernon, in 1936,
months before fellow rock 'n' roll great Buddy Holly, from nearby Lubbock
Joan Crawford(second), born Lucille Fay LeSueur to a poor San Antonio family,
was famous for accepting an Oscar while ill in bed
As JR Ewing, Fort Worth's Larry Hagman became the face of long-running soap
Dallas and just about the most famous man in Texas
Also robbers Bonnie and Clyde, singer Janis Joplin, country star Willie Nelson,
cyclist Lance Armstrong, actress Jayne Mansfield(third)
Texas has produced two presidents: Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower, while
Connecticut-born George W Bush (fourth) grew up there
3. Homes
Land is cheaper than elsewhere and the process of land acquisition very
efficient, says Dr Ali Anari, research economist at the Real Estate Center at
Texas A&M University.
"From the time of getting a building permit right through to the construction
of homes, Texas is much quicker than other states.
"There is an abundant supply of land and fewer regulations and more friendly
government, generally a much better business attitude here than other states."
This flexibility, plus strict lending rules, helped to shield the state from
the recent housing market crash.
4. Low tax
'I moved because I had to'
Jeff Paradise, 32, works for an insurance company and relocated to Dallas in
2011, but he often returns to see his partner, Ryan, in his native New York.
"I've been to quite a lot of cities in the US and Dallas is probably my least
favourite. The one reason I'm here is for a financial purpose. I have a really
good job but I work about 70-80 hours a week so if I had more free time, I
would do more. It's a new American city, all sprawled out, because it came of
age in the 60s and 70s when it was all about cars and highways. But it's
definitely changed the last 5-10 years and they are trying to improve the
public transport. I get the train and it's clean, on time and cheaper than New
York."
Texas is one of only seven states where residents pay no personal state income
tax, says Kay Bell, contributing tax editor at Bankrate and Texan native.
The state has a disproportionate take from property taxes, which has become a
big complaint among homeowners, she adds. But overall, only five states had a
lower individual tax burden than Texas, according to Tax Foundation research.
There are also tax incentives for businesses and this week legislators cut more
than $1bn off proposed business taxes.
5. Pick your own big city
Texas has six of the country's 20 biggest cities, says Erica Grieder, author of
Big, Hot, Cheap and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of
Texas.
Contrast this to, for example, Illinois, where if you want to live in a big
city you can live in Chicago or you have to move out of state, she says.
But if you're in Texas you can be in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort
Worth, or El Paso.
6. Austin in particular
Why I live in Austin
James McMurty
"Houston is a city, San Antonio is a city but Austin doesn't feel like that to
me," says Texan-born folk singer James McMurty.
"I like it because it's equidistant to each coast so I can get in my van and
drive to the west coast and drive around there for three weeks and then come
home and do the same on the east coast and still have a life.
"It's far enough south that it doesn't get too cold and you don't get many
twisters. And it's a blue dot [Democrat] in a red sea."
Restaurant manager Christopher Hislop, 33, moved in 2007 from Los Angeles to
Austin, where he met his wife and they now have a nine-month-old boy.
"I came to Austin for a wedding and thought it was a really cool city and the
people were nice - it was everything that LA wasn't but still had that hip vibe
without pretension. The nightlife is great and there's an emphasis on getting
out and about - they maintain trailways and nature.
"It's not Texas at all and that's what I liked about it. I don't know Texas
very well, I grew up in Chicago, but Austin is not Texas because you think of
10-gallon hats and guys on horseback. It's a clich but Austin isn't like that,
it's hip and in the now. The rest of Texas is very conservative."
People like to perpetuate a myth that Austin is still the Austin it once was,
says Joshua Long, author of Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance
in Austin, Texas. So as it's become a big city, a movement has developed to
"keep it cool, keep it weird and keep it environmentally friendly".
7. Family-friendly
Because of its good-value housing, Texas has been particularly popular with
families, and some of its cities now have an above-average number of children.
San Antonio is home to the largest community of gay parents.
In Texas, you can have a reasonable mortgage and pretty good schools, says
Grieder. And restaurants are invariably family-friendly.
"You hear about the high drop-out rate but Texas education scores pretty well
at national tests for 4th and 8th graders in math, reading and science. The
aggregate is about average.
"The perception is that Texas has poor schools but it's not correct. Across the
country in general, we don't have schools as good as we would like them to be."
In eighth-grade maths, for instance, Texas scored higher than the national
average and outscored the three other big states of California, New York and
Florida. On Sunday, an education budget was approved that restored cuts made in
2011.
8. Fewer rules
And why some might not move to Texas
University of Texas Longhrons in action
The weather - summer is hot. Very hot
Congestion problems growing in big cities
Not well known for fun nightlife, outside Austin
If you hate American football (above, University of Texas Longhorns), you might
be outnumbered
"Texas is liberal in the classic sense, it's laissez-faire, so there's a lack
of regulations," says Grieder, and this can apply to the obvious (business
regulations) or the less obvious (city rules).
"The classic social contract is - we're not going to do a ton to help you but
we're not going to get in your way. That's not 100% true of the state but
there's that strand in the state."
Mortage lending is an obvious exception. But there has been strong opposition
to banning texting while driving and a proposed tax on soda.
And Governor Rick Perry is poised to sign off the strongest email privacy laws
in the US, which would require state law enforcement agencies to get a warrant
before accessing emails.
9. Texans are normal people
People dream about moving to California, but they don't dream about moving to
Texas, says Grieder, and some are even reluctant to come but they end up liking
it.
"People realise that Texans aren't all Bible thumping, gun-toting people. The
job is the trigger to come but you find it's pretty nice to live here.
"The conservative and religious image is overblown. The state definitely leans
right but it's not oppressive. The religious right is very vocal and organised
but they don't typically win on issues. The business interests form a wedge
against them and tend to carry the day."
10. And they're not going anywhere
All this doesn't just bring in new arrivals - native Texans aren't leaving the
state either. It is the "stickiest" state in the country, according to the
latest figures from the Pew Research Center, which suggest that more than
three-quarters of adults born in Texas still live there. Alaska is the least
sticky.