Bexar County is one of the ten counties in the USA which have benefitted the most from population gains due to people leaving coastal communities where housing costs have spun out of control, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
According to a study by the web site RentCafe, Bexar County has added 81,000 residents since 2012 from places like Los Angeles and Santa Clara Counties in California, New York City, and Washington DC.
RentCafe says in Los Angeles, for example, the average price of a home is about $620,000, more than ten times the average annual salary. In Bexar County, for example, average rent is a healthy 22% of the average family's income, while in Los Angeles it is 38%, and in parts of New York City, rent can eat up nearly two thirds of an average family income.
In Manhattan, for example, the average annual income is $88,000, far more than the average income in San Antonio, but the average price of a home in Manhattan is $1.1 million.
Simiar stories are forcing people out of places like Washigton DC, Miami, San Francisco and Chicago.
The top five counties where people from those places move to take advantage of what RentCafe calls 'half price homes' are in Texas. Denton County and Collin County, north of Dallas, Williamson County north of Austin, and Ft. Bend County near Houston, are also on the list.
The biggest loser by far is Los Angeles County, which has lost nearly 400,000 residents in the past five years.
When asked why they are fleeing California, 55% cite the high cost of housing. Other reasons cited include high taxes, more opportunites in Texas, and family reasons.
The five Texas counties on the list have indeed exhibited a stronger economy than the five counties Americans are fleeing, an indication of how significantly high housing costs impact economic growth.
Bexar County has seen a 3.0% increase in jobs over the last five years, with Denton and Williamson Counties experiencing even stronger job growth.
Los Angeles, by comparison, has seen average annual job growth of 2.1% and many of the other outbound counties have seen job growth of 1%.
graphic; rentcafe.com