How Has The Pandemic Affected Texas Population Trends?

It probably surprises nobody that Texas is a growing state. But how do the numbers look when addressing the pandemic?

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In 2022, Texas actually surpassed a population of 30 million, just second in population size behind California (39 million).

It's important to note that even Texas counties that saw a decline in size from 2010 to 2020 experienced increased population during the pandemic due to increased domestic migration. With large numbers moving from California to Texas, The Lone Star State saw a moderate boost to their numbers.

Texas counties with highest growth

Among the top 10 U.S. counties with the highest numerical growth between 2021 to 2022, six were from Texas. The top 10 fastest growing U.S. counties in that year? Five were in Texas.

Texas Demographic Center

Harris County saw the second-highest growth of any U.S. county from 2021 to 2022 with an additional 45,000 residents in one year. Collin County was close behind, followed by Denton and Fort Bend as the top four Texas counties with highest growth in 2022

Natural change in Texas

As with every state, population trends must take into account natural change: the number of births and deaths affecting population size.

Out of the 254 counties in Texas, 152 experienced a natural decline. This means that, in these counties, the amount of deaths exceeded the amount of births between 2020 and 2022.

So, the driving factor to Texas' increase during and post-pandemic lies in the domestic migration: Americans moving to Texas from other states due to a variety of factors.