Greg Abbott issues exodus warning for Texas city

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has spoken out after Austin, Texas, was ranked fifth on a list of the “highest number of move-outs” produced by removal company PODS, despite not appearing in the top 20 in 2023.

In a post on X Abbott, a Republican, wrote: “Austin’s leftist policies are beginning to take a toll—causing residents to leave. They are experiencing what San Francisco has experienced. If they don’t change, it won’t end well. There are other cities in Texas that provide attractive options.”

The current mayor of Austin is Democrat Kirk Watson, who was elected for a second term in December 2022 after having previously held the position between 1997 and 2001. Republicans generally struggle in major cities with the party only providing the mayor of one of the 10 biggest cities in the United States—Eric Johnson of Dallas—according to Ballotpedia.

In his X post Abbott also linked to a news article by local network KXAN that reported Austin had become one of the “top move-out cities” in America.

This claim was based on an analysis by PODS published earlier this month that found Austin is the fifth-highest ranked city in the country for move-outs, following Los Angeles, the San Francisco area, the Miami area and Long Island.

In an accompanying article PODS suggested a boom period for Austin has come to an end, stating: “Austin, TX, is new to the ranks this year. During the pandemic, this Texan darling saw unprecedented growth, as tech companies and residents flocked to the booming city.

“When the city didn’t even scratch the top 20 of most moved-to cities last year, we had a feeling it might point to the end of this era.”

The company also noted U.S. Census Bureau data showing that Travis County, which includes Austin, recorded negative net migration for the first time in two decades between July 2022 and July 2023.

It attributed this in part to “declining affordability, being priced out of housing, and a lack of space for new builds.”

Newsweek contacted Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Governor Greg Abbott for comment, via an online inquiry form and email respectively, outside of usual office hours on Friday. This article will be updated if either decides to comment.

The cities “with the highest number of move-ins” according to the latest PODS ranking were Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Wilmington in North Carolina, Houston in Texas, Greenville-Spartanburg in South Carolina and Charlotte, once again in North Carolina.

Discussing the trend toward the Carolinas PODS said: “Both states offer beautiful beaches, forestlands, mountains, and vibrant metro cities. The cost of living comes in just below the national average and the quality of life is good. Four-season weather, southern charm, history, and dynamic arts, culture, food, and wine scenes are big draws, too.

“Residents can also look forward to a growing economy (particularly in North Carolina) and lower tax rates than many other U.S. states.”

In the year to July 2022 a number of Democratic states saw their populations fall, with California shrinking by 0.3 percent, New York by 0.9 percent, Illinois by 0.8 percent and Oregon by 0.4 percent.

Speaking to Newsweek Sam Karnick, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, a conservative and libertarian 501 nonprofit public policy think tank, cited crime as a key factor. He said: “Populations in Democrat-controlled states are falling because of an exodus from big cities. The reverse is happening in Republican-controlled states.

“Although taxes are an important factor, there was not nearly as much blue-to-red state movement before 2020. The deciding element appears to be the rapid rise of violent crime in Democrat-controlled cities across the nation.

“The 2021 National Crime Victimization Survey shows that the rate of violent crime has been rising in urban areas, though not in suburbs or rural areas. This tracks with the population movement from Democrat-controlled states to Republican ones.”

According to U.S. Census Bureau 2023 population estimates over the past year the population of New York state declined more than any other, losing 101,984 residents followed by California which declined by 75,423 residents.