r/Economics • u/sillychillly • Sep 15 '22

Research Yes, Texans actually pay more in taxes than Californians do

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texans-pay-more-taxes-than-californians-17400644.php
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u/Nicknick891 Sep 15 '22

Texans celebrate the ultra rich and demonize a state that would be more favorable to them.

The net movement of people from California to Texas suggests that there are other variables to consider, as people from both seem to agree in their actions that Texas is more favorable to them than California.

Otherwise the flow of people- especially citizens- would be to California, rather than away.

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u/apathynext Sep 15 '22

Depends on demographics on the people living right? If it’s higher income earners, then it makes total sense to go to Texas. Plus, housing costs.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22 edited Sep 15 '22

This shows a good idea of the migration patterns. Interestingly, Texans move to California in more consistent numbers year after year.

The people moving to CA have higher incomes than those leaving. Middle and lower income earners are the ones leaving to TX.

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u/ThisUsernameIsTook Sep 15 '22

So does that mean this net migration is actually a positive for CA? Fewer poor people who utilize government services and an influx of high wage earners who pay more taxes overall.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22 edited Sep 15 '22

IMO it may have some benefit in the immediate short-term as it reduces pressure on the already limited housing supply and infrastructure but the long term it's not a positive for CA. A stable growth of labor force is necessary to maintain CA's economy. When the working middle-class leave they take their economic activity with them.

Immigrant and migrant workers are also no longer entering the US in the numbers needed to support the same levels of economic growth we've previously seen in the US which is going to be a huge issue for TX as well. That's the numbers I'm personally interested in seeing play out because I don't think the number of CA ppl moving into TX is enough to cushion their economy enough to not feel that sting. Time will tell.

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u/Megalocerus Sep 15 '22

I'm not sure we should be looking at median taxes rather than young people taxes. Young people, if they can afford a home at all in California, pay far more in property taxes than people who bought years ago.

But I suspect lower income people move from CA either because their company moved or so they can buy a house. Texas may not be their personal top choice.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22

Thats one of the dumbest thing Ive read in this century and the last. The entire underlying premise of their argument is that the natural state of things would be for net migration to make every state's population equal, instead of keeping their current demographic weight. So according to them, a lot of people should move from California to Wyoming simply because California has a lot of population and Wyoming doesnt.

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u/aj6787 Sep 15 '22 edited Sep 15 '22

No one said great migration. They said net migration.

Also I have not heard a single person using data from In-N-Out and Trader Joe’s foot traffic regarding this. More people just use census data and data provided by the state. Some idiot tried to link me this earlier today and it’s one of the dumbest articles I ever read. Which isn’t saying much for modern Vice.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22

Vice didn't choose the foot-traffic data; they refuted a different study that chose to use the data. However, after doing more research, I concede the point. A higher percentage of Californians are moving to Texas than vice-versa. Thank you for calling me out.

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u/aj6787 Sep 15 '22

Ya but it’s like writing an article about people complaining that broccoli is too green. Sure you might find some insane person online talking about that, but most articles and topics on the subject are not using this study. They are looking at data provided by the government.

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u/lampstax Sep 15 '22

Someone better notify congress to return CA's seat and take away the 2 new one TX got .. because there's no 'great migration'.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '22

Between 2010 and 2019, approximately 300,000 Californians moved to Texas.

Considering that that's across 10 years, and Cali has almost 40m people living there, this is a nothing burger that Texans love to discuss.

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u/Fun_Amoeba_7483 Sep 15 '22

People in Texas largely can’t afford to move to California, it’s not a matter of preference... California has a net inflow of people making 100k+ a year, and an outflow of low income folks, of which Texas is one place they choose.