Here's why so many corporate headquarters leave California for Texas
By Bill Hethcock – Senior Reporter, Dallas Business Journal
Earlier this week, site selection expert Joe Vranich gave the Dallas Business Journal an exclusive look at his latest research.
One big takeaway: When companies move their headquarters out of California, they choose Texas way more than they choose any other state.
Since Jan. 1, 2018, Texas lured five times more California headquarters than its next closest competitor. With a blanket apology to George Strait and the Golden State, not all their headquarter exits move to Texas. But damn near.
Within Texas, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are dominating. Why are so many California companies choosing Austin and DFW when they move to Texas?
I think the number one strength is the variety of communities that you can find in the DFW area. If you want more of a Western feel and you want to start wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hats and you like to be with people who are just more relaxed, Fort Worth is a great place to be. Let's say you like to fish and you've got a boat and you want to be near a lake, well, look at a map and Dallas-Fort Worth has some nice lakes. You can live in a place like Little Elm and be really close to your boat. If you want to buy a starter house at a lower price that's in a good school district, places like Melissa are booming, and you can go up there and get a house less expensive than one in, say, Plano or Colleyville. If you do want a mansion style of home, you can find it. I could go on and on about these communities and how how they have different characteristics.