When Californians move to Texas, it’s not the seared chicken steak or grilled beef briquette that they crave.
As more warriors of the Golden State head east, fleeing the high prices and crime of the state’s urban centers to the wide open spaces and sprawling suburbs of the Lone Star State, they keep their penchant for In-N-Out, so a new statistical report from Placer.ai.
And the trend is driving the fast-food chain’s sales through the red roofs.
Despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to stem the flow of population to Gov. Greg Abbott, more than 1 in 10 new Texans are from Los Angeles, San Francisco, or any number of California locations.
California transplants in Texas keep up their cravings for the Golden State delicacy In-N-Out
Double Double from In-N-Out, seen here, features two beef patties and two slices of cheese on a bun
More and more Californians and big corporations are fleeing the state to Texas in search of lower rents and taxes
More than 1 in 10 new transplants to Texas comes from California, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to stem the hemorrhage
So it’s perhaps no coincidence that visits to Texas In-N-Out stores increased by a whopping 35.3 percent between 2019 and 2022. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast food outlets saw just a 1.1 percent increase in the state over the same period.
The analytics firm’s study found 1.6 percent of resettlers in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area came from Los Angeles County.
According to the Placer.ai report, Dallas burger joints saw a 24.4 percent increase in visits over the past three years, while other fast-food restaurants grew just 0.9 percent.
It would make sense that In-N-Out traffic is highest in DFW, which is where 23 of the burger palaces are based according to the fast food company.
In-N-Out, which first opened in Texas in 2011 but has since expanded to Houston, San Antonio and even Waco.
California’s population declined again in 2021 for the second year in a row
Posters warning residents not to “move to Texas” have appeared in major California cities in relation to the Uvalde school shooting. The spooky billboard features famous Texan slogans and a suspicious man in a hoodie and sunglasses
A San Francisco billboard was seen on the corner of Folsom and 7th Streets, leased to FoxPoint Media advertisers
The fast food restaurant’s cult following is hard to believe. It has been featured in films such as The Big Lebowski and Swingers, as well as the television shows Arrested Development and The Simpsons.
Californians drool over the basic menu, which consists of burgers, fries, sodas and milkshakes. No McSalads shakers here. The belly-crushing double-double has two beef patties and two slices of cheese.
As much as Californians love In-N-Out, it doesn’t seem like it’s enough to keep them in the state.
In 2021, about 280,000 more people left California for other states than moved here, continuing a decade-long trend.
More than 300,000 residents fled the state of Eureka to Texas between 2010 and 2019.
About 50,000 Californians moved to Texas each year between 2018 and 2019, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the number of people moving from Texas to California over those two years was about 35,000 a year.
With an estimated 39,185,605 residents at the end of the year, California remains the most populous US state, well ahead of second-place Texas with its 29.5 million residents.
But after California’s years of strong growth came tantalizingly close to the 40 million milestone, the state’s population is now roughly back to where it was in 2016, after declining by 117,552 people that year.
More companies have jumped on the bandwagon to move to Texas because of the state’s low corporate tax rate of around 20 percent – one of the lowest in the country.
Texas is in the middle of the country, making it an attractive central hub for travel and communications. Corporate rents are also low compared to major US cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Some 250 companies have moved to the state of Lone Star since Governor Abbott took office, including Tesla, Oracle and Joe Rogan’s manufacturing company.
Last week, mysterious billboards appeared in San Francisco and Los Angeles urging California residents to stay away from the Lone Star State.
“The Texas miracle died in Uvalde. Don’t move to Texas,’ read the sign.
As the number of Californians fleeing the state amid the higher cost of living mounts, Newsom has stepped up the 2024 campaign by criticizing the Republican states of Texas and Florida and their abortion and gun laws.
In-N-Out launched in Texas in 2011, including this San Antonio location. Now there are 43 of the burger outposts in the Lone Star State
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (left) has stalked his Texas counterpart Greg Abbott with full-page newspaper ads about abortion and gun violence
Newsom’s ads are scheduled to run in the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle and El Paso Times
Newsom targeted Abbott in July by placing ads in major Texas newspapers with the message that gun violence is responsible for the killing of children in California.
“If Texas can ban abortion and put lives at risk, California can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives. If Governor Abbott truly wants to protect the right to life, we urge him to follow California’s lead,” the ad said.
Ad after ad from the Democratic governor came in Florida, asking people to move to the Golden State.
“I urge all of you who live in Florida to join the fight — or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom,” the ad reads.
