Thousands of Americans have left major metropolitan areas during the pandemic, including New York and San Francisco, for more affordable states, such as Texas, where Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other big Silicon Valley wigs have recently relocated. .
The COVID-19 outbreak is fueling what some experts call a mass exodus of people from some of the country’s largest technology and financial centers, with workers now staring at areas with fewer taxes and fewer government regulations.
Musk, 49, announced last week that he had moved to Lone Star State, months after criticizing California state officials for his strict coronavirus restrictions.
He was soon joined by tech giant Oracle Corp., which on Friday said it would move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin and let employees choose the location of their offices and decide if they work from home.
Austin ranked number one in the ten cities where more people have moved between April and October 2020
Meanwhile, Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, saw the largest outflow of people during this time period
But new data has revealed that not only the rich are involved in migrating to smaller, cheaper regions, but so are average American workers.
A recent LinkedIn report looked at areas that have seen an influx of newcomers, as well as those regions that have lost more residents, between April and October 2020.
Austin was ranked number one on a list of ten cities – most of which are in the south – where most people have moved during this time period.
According to the data, for every person who moved from the state capital of Texas, 1.53 people entered.
Phoenix ranked second for the most popular destination, followed by Nashville, Tampa, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Charleston and Seattle.
Meanwhile, Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, saw the largest outflow of people during this time period.
New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, large, bustling urban areas that are home to booming technology and financial companies, ranked second and third, respectively.
Tesla billionaire founder Elon Musk, 49, announced last week that he had moved to Lone Star State, months after criticizing California state officials for his strict coronavirus restrictions.
Technology giant Oracle Corp. on Friday said it would move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin and allow employees to choose their offices and decide whether to work from home.
According to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living played an important factor in which people decided to move, according to Bloomberg.
It showed a trend of people marching from urban and expensive cities, mostly located in democratic states, and going to smaller southern cities.
The move of billionaire Elon Musk to Austin follows podcast host Joe Rogan, who in August revealed he would be moving to the state capital of Texas to “have a little more freedom.”
Their move means they have joined the 687,000 Californians who have moved to Texas in the past ten years.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2010 to 2019 showed that California transplants accounted for approximately 13% of the entire population that has moved to the state since the beginning of the decade.
During his announcement, Musk justified the move by saying he needed to be closer to two of his big projects: the development of rockets by his SpaceX company in the southern part of the state and the construction of a plant. of Tesla cars near Austin.
The move of billionaire Elon Musk to Austin follows podcast host Joe Rogan (pictured) who in August revealed he would move to the state capital of Texas to “have a little more freedom.”
Texas has long been targeting California companies, which are high-cost, for relocation.
The state is one of the few in the country that offers the lowest cost of living and has no state income taxes, which can be attractive to both businesses and millennial workers.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took to Twitter last week to brag about Oracle’s decision.
“Oracle has just announced that they have moved their headquarters to Austin,” Abbott posted Friday.
‘Texas is truly the land of business, jobs and opportunities. We will continue to attract the best, ”he added.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has said it is moving its global headquarters from California to Texas. The company is building a 440,000-square-foot campus on two five-story buildings, according to the architect’s drawing. It is scheduled to end in 2022
Migration to Texas also occurs when technology companies that have let workers do their work remotely due to the practice of the pandemic, which allows them to hire people who live far from offices and leaves companies less tied to campuses. of Silicon Valley.
“We believe these moves better position Oracle for growth and provide our staff with more flexibility about where and how they work,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
He also said he would keep the main centers in his current home in Redwood City, California and other locations.
In its most recent fiscal year, which ended May 31, Oracle reported profits of $ 10.1 billion in revenue of about $ 39 billion. The company was founded in Santa Clara, California in 1977 and, on May 31, employed about 135,000 people.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, one of Silicon Valley’s first companies, earlier this month said it will move to the Houston area and build a campus with two five-story buildings in 2022.
In 2018, Toyota moved its U.S. headquarters from Southern California to Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.