After years of a constant influx of people fleeing higher taxes in other states, not to mention hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants entering through the southern border, the cost of living in Texas has been creeping up, taking a toll on those with lower incomes, US Census Bureau stats reveal.
It's really about supply and demand, and with so many people moving to the Lone Star State since the pandemic began, urban areas especially are seeing the costs of living spike.
"With all these companies moving here and people moving here, there's a housing supply issue," business strategy expert Lance Thrailkill says, but so much of it is circumstances, "hindered a little bit by higher interest rates so that people aren't moving around, buying and selling like they were before the pandemic years."
With state politicians working last year to help increase home construction, Thrailkill suggests state or federal officials consider creating homeowner subsidies for firefighters, police, and schoolteachers who aren't already homeowners.
Even so, Texas remains highly affordable, especially outside the crowded metropolitan areas.
And despite many of the state's problems being left over from the Biden years, there are things the Trump administration can do to help those in need now.
He says one of the biggest problems is that with such a years-long increase in population, homes aren't being built fast enough to meet the influx of residents, a concern that led the Texas Legislature to pass a number of laws last year aimed at making homebuilding simpler and more economical.
"The housing market's cooled off a little bit and there has been some easing" for cash-strapped renters and prospective home buyers, but if interest rates continue a downward trend there could be another tightening in the housing market."