Kerby Anderson

James Freeman, writing in the Wall Street Journal, reminds us that “The Great Migration Continues.” Last year, I did a commentary on the realignment of America based on the latest census figures. James Freeman updates this and shows that the trend continues.

One headline from the Houston Chronicle proclaims, “Houston suburbs are still booming. But how long will it last?” An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram explained that the Houston metro area ranked first in numeric growth and gained 126,720 people between 2024 and 2025 and Dallas-Fort Worth grew by 123,557 people in the same time. Significant numeric growth also occurred in Austin and San Antonio.

He explains that Texas may have had the biggest boomtowns, “but on a percentage basis, population growth was fastest last year in the metropolitan areas of Ocala, Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.” People are moving from high tax states with overly-ambitious politicians to inexpensive, modest governments.

However, some critics say that this migration has more to do with weather than state governments. He counters with an article from the Los Angeles Times. The city used to be one of the most dynamic boom towns. Now Los Angeles has lost population in all but one of the last eight years.

Migration is due to several interrelated factors and is more complicated than what I describe here. You might want to get a free copy of my Point of View booklet on the “Realignment of America.”

But the major factor is money. People are making economic choices because of what governors and legislatures are doing in their state.