Why is Texas so attractive?
February 25, 2026
We call it the Texas Triangle. This is the geographic region encompassing the land from the northern outskirts of Dallas (basically Lake Texoma) south down US 45 to the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston to the Hill Country west of San Antonio and embracing the capital, Austin, too. This is where 80% of Texans reside. It pulls in many of the younger folk from our rural areas, because they can no longer make a good living in small towns, farms nor ranches these days. It is a region of amazing growth and intellectual vibrancy. It is arguably one of the most attractive areas of the United States and thus the world.
The Texas Triangle
The Texas Triangle is composed of four metropolitan statistical areas and will very soon include four of the ten most populous MSAs in the U.S. Economically, it would be the 15th largest economy in the world. As the band, Little Texas, says, “God Blessed Texas!”
Let’s look at an overview of what makes this region so impressive by the numbers;
Texas Population
Taken as the whole, Texas’ population is over 31-million, growing more than 16% in the past ten years. About a quarter of the population is under 18, a great indicator of future growth as these young Texans enter the workforce and form new families. The 25 to 50 age group is the most productive and the biggest spenders in that stage of life, contributing to future Gross Domestic Product. You can see in the chart above the Triangle’s GDP is $1.875-trillion while the entire state’s is nearly $2.8-trillion. If the state of Texas were its own country, (if only) our economy would be the ninth largest in the world, and is larger than Italy or Russia’s $2.54-trillion and just less than France’s $3.36-trillion. Our growth rate of 2.6% continues to be very strong.
Growth Prospects
While Texas population grew more than 16% in the past ten years, the peak job growth was in the Covid years of 2021 to 2023. In the year ending July 1 2025 the Census says we added 500,000 new folks to our state’s population. Job growth grows along with this with 187,700 jobs being added in 2024 the Texas Workforce study shows Most are coming from California at 14% then, Florida at 9% and Colorado at 4.6%. The reasons certainly include that California along with New York are the most expensive places to live in the country and are becoming even more so. Florida is also more expensive as land values climb, and insurance costs skyrocket. GlobeSt.com analysis of the census data says Texas still ranks among the fastest-growing states in the country, third fastest in percentage terms, but tops in numbers. However, the rate is slowing after the big Covid migration surge, which has now faded, and also because international immigration has slowed substantially.
New Home Construction
Home construction in Texas is 15% of the national home production with over 160,000 new home starts. The graph above is an estimate, since there are thousands of starts outside the major metros that are not counted. Texas has actually passed California as the fastest growing home market in the U.S.
Why is Texas so attractive?
Our state has more land for new development and municipalities are willing to extend utilities like water, sewer and electricity. Moreover, Texas is less bureaucratic and easier to deal with than California, New York or Florida. That is strictly comparatively speaking, because anyone in development will tell you it is still very slow to get building permits here.
In 2024 over 145,000 new homes were built in the Texas Triangle, although there was a substantial decline in 2025 due to continuing high interest rates on mortgages and general uncertainty among potential home buyers on whether now is the time to move forward with a new home purchase. Buyers feel less urgency to buy, since prices are no longer moving higher, and are even falling somewhat. While home construction has moderated, massive construction projects in data centers and new electric generation facilities have filled that gap.
Texas has also benefited from many companies moving their headquarters to our state. This generates more economic growth as well as good paying jobs for Texans, young and old. Lack of a state income tax is a big magnet, as is our business-friendly climate. Between 2020 and 2025, more than 200 headquarters transferred their homes to Texas, with half coming from California. Texas even has its own stock exchange, TXSE, with over 100 companies dual-listed with the NYSE. Its website says it is a national securities exchange for U.S. and global companies providing access to capital markets; “with Texas’ booming economy, pro-business policies and growing population, the right time to establish a national securities exchange in Texas is now.”
The Texas Triangle is a great place to live, work and play. Don’t we know it!