The good people at United Van Lines were kind enough to run a count of their moves to and from Orange County in 2009 — and the results had a cowboy attitude and a BBQ taste!
| Town | Price | Index | Income | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman | $90,000 | 93% | $57,900 | 11 |
| San Angelo | $114,000 | 86% | $52,400 | 37 |
| Wichita Falls | $105,000 | 83% | $52,800 | 59 |
| Fort Worth | $133,000 | 82% | $65,900 | 65 |
| Amarillo | $116,000 | 82% | $55,300 | 66 |
| Victoria | $126,000 | 81% | $53,700 | 72 |
| Beaumont | $115,000 | 79% | $54,300 | 86 |
| Killeen | $132,000 | 79% | $54,000 | 92 |
| Tyler | $139,000 | 77% | $55,300 | 107 |
| Waco | $119,000 | 76% | $51,700 | 111 |
| Odessa | $118,000 | 76% | $49,000 | 115 |
| Abilene | $115,000 | 75% | $50,500 | 119 |
| Austin | $183,000 | 74% | $73,300 | 126 |
| College Station | $152,000 | 73% | $56,100 | 133 |
| Houston | $152,000 | 70% | $63,800 | 154 |
| Dallas | $167,000 | 69% | $68,700 | 156 |
| San Antonio | $151,000 | 69% | $57,200 | 160 |
| Midland | $160,000 | 67% | $60,200 | 170 |
| Corpus Christi | $135,000 | 67% | $50,200 | 172 |
| McAllen | $101,000 | 52% | $32,000 | 206 |
| Laredo | $123,000 | 51% | $37,300 | 208 |
| Brownsville | $111,000 | 49% | $32,900 | 214 |
| El Paso | $132,000 | 47% | $39,700 | 216 |
| OC | $411,000 | 38% | $86,100 | 222 |
Where did our Orange County neighbors and coworkers go?
- Texas, 131 United moves out of 1,153 in 2009.
- Washington, 81
- Florida, 77
- Elsewhere in California, 70
- Illinois, 50
- New York, 47
Where are our new neighbors from?
- Texas, 92 out of 1,102
- Florida, 77
- Illinois, 68
- Elsewhere in California, 67
- Washington, 64
- New Jersey, 64
Clearly, Texas is the moving van’s most popular stop when the business involves Orange County. And one thing we know Texas offers is housing affordability.
The chart at right shows the Texas results from the third-quarter study by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Bank of what they call “housing opportunity” — comparing median selling price; the “opportunity index” showing what share of homes bought in a quarter would be “affordable” to the typical local household; regional median household income; and national rank by “opportunity index” out of 232 towns followed. This chart is ranked by affordability index — and you can see where Orange County falls! (Psst! Scroll down!)
Now, Texas isn’t for everybody, but it certainly works for some ex-Orange Countians. Your thoughts?
Demographic trends:
