Why So Many California Buyers Are Choosing Austin Instead of Staying Put

Moving from California to Austin is one of the most common relocations in the country right now, and for good reason. More than 150,000 Californians moved to Texas in 2025 — the single largest state-to-state migration corridor in the United States — with Los Angeles County and the Bay Area sending the most people, and the Austin metro ranking as one of the top three destinations nationwide. If you are weighing this move, you are in very large company, and the decision deserves clear-eyed math rather than a sales pitch.

I am Robbie English, Broker, REALTOR at Uncommon Realty, and I help people relocating from California to Austin make the move with the full picture in front of them — what genuinely gets cheaper, what quietly gets more expensive, and what your California equity actually buys here today. My goal on this page is not to convince you to move. It is to make sure that if you do, you do it with your eyes open.

Here is the honest version: for a lot of Californians this move pencils out well, but "Texas is just cheaper" is too simple. Whether you come out ahead depends heavily on your income, the price of the home you buy, and what you are leaving behind. Let me break down the parts that actually move the needle.

Before we get into the details, here is a quick overview of what you need to know.

TLDR: Moving From California To Austin

1. California-to-Texas is the largest interstate move in the country, and Austin is a top destination.
2. Texas has no state income tax; California's top rate is 13.3% — the biggest single financial driver for high earners.
3. The tradeoff is property tax: Texas averages about 1.71% versus California's roughly 0.71%, and Texas has no Prop 13 cap.
4. Austin is currently a buyer's market — around 5.5 months of inventory and homes sitting 80-plus days — so you are arriving in a calmer market, not a bidding war.
5. Your California equity goes further here, but the right area and the right timing matter more than the headline price.

Why So Many Californians Are Making The Move

This is not a trend built on social media. It is built on paychecks, housing, and taxes. Over 265,000 people relocated to Texas in the past year — roughly 726 a day — and California contributed about 14% of that total, more than any other state. Los Angeles County is the single largest source, followed by the Bay Area.

The drivers are consistent: a strong and diversifying job base, housing that costs a fraction of coastal California, and no state income tax. Austin in particular pulls people who want economic opportunity without a Bay Area price tag, and the metro has ranked among the top three moving destinations in the country. When that many people make the same decision, it is usually because the underlying numbers hold up. The job is to make sure they hold up for your situation specifically.

The Job Market That Makes The Move Work

For a lot of Californians, especially those in tech, the move follows the work. Austin has become a genuine second hub for the industry rather than a satellite. Apple operates a large campus in North Austin — one of its most significant sites outside of California — and Tesla is now headquartered here, with its enormous Gigafactory east of the city. Samsung is investing heavily in semiconductor manufacturing in nearby Taylor, and Dell has anchored Round Rock for decades. Downtown carries offices for a long list of national tech and finance names.

That depth matters for two reasons. First, it means you are not betting your career on a single employer or a single sector holding up. Second, it is a big part of why rental and resale demand stays resilient here even when the for-sale market cools. If your job is portable or you are transferring with a California employer that already has an Austin presence, the transition is often smoother than people expect — and it directly shapes which parts of the metro will make the most sense for your commute.

The Tax Tradeoff, Told Honestly

This is where most relocation content oversimplifies, so let me be precise. California has one of the most progressive income tax systems in the country, with brackets running up to 13.3% at the top (including a 1% surcharge on income above $1 million). Texas has no state income tax at all. For a high earner, that difference alone can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year — at $500,000 of income, the gap can exceed $50,000 annually.

But there is a real offset, and Californians are often blindsided by it: property taxes. Texas has an average effective property tax rate around 1.71%, compared to roughly 0.71% in California. On a $500,000 home, that is roughly $8,000 a year in Texas versus about $3,550 in California. And Texas has nothing like California's Proposition 13, which caps how fast your assessed value can rise — here, your taxable value is reassessed toward market value (a homestead exemption and a 10% annual cap on your primary residence soften this, but it is a different world from Prop 13).

The practical takeaway: the tax win in Texas is large and real for higher earners, but for more moderate incomes, the higher, uncapped property tax can eat much of the income-tax savings. By some comparisons the move only clearly wins on total state-and-local taxes above roughly $120,000 to $140,000 of income. That is not a reason to stay or go — it is a reason to run your numbers before you fall in love with a listing.

What Your California Equity Buys In Austin Right Now

Here is the part that tends to make the decision. The Austin metro median home price sits around $440,000, with the city of Austin itself closer to $530,000 — both down slightly year over year and roughly 25% off the May 2022 peak. Compared to a median well over a million dollars in much of coastal California, the equity from a California sale often converts into a larger home, a lower payment, or both. A concrete way to think about it: a buyer selling a modest home in the Bay Area or coastal Los Angeles can frequently purchase comparable or larger square footage in a strong Austin-area neighborhood and still walk away with cash left over, or buy outright and eliminate a mortgage payment entirely. The exact result depends on your equity and where you buy, but the direction is consistent, and it is the single biggest reason the move appeals to homeowners rather than just renters.

Timing helps too. Austin is currently a buyer's market: inventory has climbed to about 5.5 months — the highest since before 2020 — and homes are averaging 80-plus days on the market. That means you can arrive, take your time, negotiate, and buy without the frenzy that defined 2021 and 2022. Austin offers a different experience than it did a few years ago, and for an out-of-state buyer that shift is genuinely in your favor. Whether you are drawn to Central Austin or a quieter suburb, you are shopping in a market that gives you room to breathe.

The Costs And Tradeoffs Californians Underestimate

A fair comparison includes the things that do not show up in a listing price. Beyond the property-tax difference already covered, budget for real Texas summers — cooling costs run high from June through September, and ERCOT electricity pricing can swing. Homeowners insurance also tends to run above the national average here because of hail and wind risk, so get a quote early rather than assuming California rates. A few other adjustments catch newcomers off guard: HOAs are far more common in Texas master-planned communities than in many established California neighborhoods, and their dues and rules vary widely, so read the documents before you commit. Austin also has famously light zoning by big-city standards, which means land use next door can change more than you might be used to — worth checking what is planned around a home, not the home in isolation.

Do not overlook the sale side either. If your California home has appreciated substantially, capital gains beyond the federal exclusion can be a meaningful tax event, and the timing of selling there while buying here needs to be coordinated deliberately — especially when you are managing it from out of state. None of this changes the fact that many Californians still come out well ahead. It just means the smart move is to model the whole picture rather than the sticker price of the house alone.

Choosing The Right Area For Your Life Here

"Austin" covers a lot of ground, and the right fit depends on what you are optimizing for. If you want walkability, culture, and proximity to downtown, Central Austin is the closest thing to a dense, urban California lifestyle. If your priority is major-employer access — Apple, and the wider tech corridor — Northwest Austin keeps you close to work while still feeling residential.

Families relocating for space and schools often land in the northern suburbs. Cedar Park and Leander offer newer construction and strong schools at prices below the city core, with Leander adding commuter-rail access to downtown. If you are chasing land, dark skies, and Hill Country privacy — a common instinct for people leaving dense California metros — Dripping Springs to the west delivers that, with the tradeoff of a longer commute and well-and-septic considerations. The point is to match the area to how you actually live, not to the first neighborhood that photographs well.

One thing to weigh alongside lifestyle: your total property-tax rate varies by county, city, and school district, so two homes at the same price in different parts of the metro can carry noticeably different annual tax bills. It is one more reason the area decision and the budget decision have to be made together rather than in sequence.

Buying From Out Of State Without The Guesswork

Relocating sight-unseen, or on one compressed scouting trip, is its own skill. You are making a major purchase in an unfamiliar market, often while still living 1,500 miles away and coordinating a sale on the other end. That is exactly the situation where local, current knowledge earns its keep — knowing which neighborhoods hold value, which are genuinely appreciating, and which look similar on paper but behave differently in practice.

I have spent decades in this market, and I also teach real estate nationally as a speaker and instructor, which keeps me sharp on the contracts, the law, and the market conditions rather than coasting on habit. Practically, that means I can run comparisons remotely, tour homes on your behalf, and structure an offer that fits a buyer's market. My website gives you real-time listings, and my real estate app connects you to the same MLS-level data I use, so you can follow the market from California in real time instead of relying on national portals that lag.

The logistics of a cross-country purchase are their own project, and they reward planning. Timing the sale of your California home against the purchase here is the biggest variable — sell first and you may need interim housing; buy first and you are carrying two properties briefly. There are financing tools to bridge that gap, and the right sequence depends on your equity and risk tolerance. Texas also allows remote and mobile-notary closings, so you often do not need to fly back for signing. Sorting these details out early, before you are emotionally attached to a specific house, is what keeps a long-distance move from turning stressful at the finish line.

Taking The Next Step Toward Your Move

If you are seriously considering Austin, the best first step is a straight conversation about your numbers — your income, your California equity, and what you actually want out of the move — before you start touring homes. That is how you find out quickly whether this move works for you, and how well.

Again, I am Robbie English, Broker, REALTOR at Uncommon Realty, and my team and I help California buyers relocate to Austin with the full financial picture rather than the highlight reel. We will tell you honestly where the math favors the move and where it does not, and we will handle the details so a cross-country purchase feels manageable instead of overwhelming.

Moving from California to Austin does not have to be a leap of faith. With real numbers and the right guidance, it becomes a decision you can make with confidence. Let's take that next step together.

Written for buyers and sellers in the Greater Austin, Texas area by Robbie English, REALTOR, Broker at Uncommon Realty.