Percentage of Houstonians who are transplants (Dallas, Center: 2014, closing, living in)

[minneahouston]

Greetings,

It goes without saying that Houston is a "transplant" city. After living here a little over 10 years, I would venture to say that the majority of residents I meet are from other locales (newsflash!). My question is,
what percentange of residents would you guesstimate are non-natives?

This, of course, would include the many residents from other countries...as well as domestic migration. I'm not sure exactly how
this can be accurately quantified, just curious to know your thoughts.

At the risk of lowering credibility points, I would think this number may hover around 50%?? Are there any resources to discover any hard data?

[HtownLove]

I would say about 50 percent sounds right. (a lot more if you go back a generation)

[EasilyAmused]

maybe there's a study out there based on the total population. But personal experience is based on where you live and work.

Where I've lived most of my life, 80% are native. When I lived in the Woodlands, 90% were from somewhere else.

[cheryjohns]

Probably a lot higher. A high majority over 25 are transplants. You will find the highest percentage of native Houstonians among the children. I have no absolutely no facts to back this up, just personal observation.

[minneahouston]

Yes, I agree that it matters tremendously where you live. I live and work (and play) on the Westside which I'm sure skews the view a little.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

I'm a bit of a geek about this kind of stuff, so I dove into some census data and came up with some very rough numbers:

Looking back 50 years:

In 1960 the Houston metro area's population was about 1.2 million people
The 2009 population estimate is 5.8 million people
Therefore, the net gain over 50 years is 4.6 million.

Using a rule of thumb that about half of the increase is "natural" (births minus deaths) and the other half is net migration would mean that there are about 2.3 million people living in in the Houston area who have moved here from somewhere else at some point in the last 50 years, which is about 40%.

[SouthernBoy205]

I can tell that Houston is a transplant city. Look at the growth!

[Wonderful Jellal]

Originally Posted by UpstaterInBklyn

I'm a bit of a geek about this kind of stuff, so I dove into some census data and came up with some very rough numbers:

Looking back 50 years:

In 1960 the Houston metro area's population was about 1.2 million people
The 2009 population estimate is 5.8 million people
Therefore, the net gain over 50 years is 4.6 million.

Using a rule of thumb that about half of the increase is "natural" (births minus deaths) and the other half is net migration would mean that there are about 2.3 million people living in in the Houston area who have moved here from somewhere else at some point in the last 50 years, which is about 40%.

It's amazing ! I think that : Houston metro will surpass the 10 million mark !

[DANNYY]

Originally Posted by RenaudFR

It's amazing ! I think that : Houston metro will surpass the 10 million mark !

I don't doubt it.

I will find the article later that I read about how the Port of Houston's activity is about to increase another 25% in the next 20 years.
It's already the 2nd largest port in the country by total tonnage, and it's closing in on the gap to get to first.

Dallas is the largest landlocked metropolitan area in the country, it's a great place and it's growing so fast, but I've noticed that all the largest metropolitan areas in the world are on the coastline of some kind. Even Chicago gets by with it's port system (3rd largest in land port in the world) on Lake Michigan.

In summary- I think there will be a point where Houston will start growing faster than Dallas and eventually close in on the population there. At some point, that's going to happen.

It's inevitable to stop this city as long as it improves it's economy by diversifying and remains an active port location (trade with Caribbean & Central America & South America & Mexico). But if it doesn't improve it's economy before a major economic energy bust- then it will slow down by quite a lot.

[Wonderful Jellal]

Originally Posted by OmShahi

I don't doubt it.

I will find the article later that I read about how the Port of Houston's activity is about to increase another 25% in the next 20 years.
It's already the 2nd largest port in the country by total tonnage, and it's closing in on the gap to get to first.

Dallas is the largest landlocked metropolitan area in the country, it's a great place and it's growing so fast, but I've noticed that all the largest metropolitan areas in the world are on the coastline of some kind. Even Chicago gets by with it's port system (3rd largest in land port in the world) on Lake Michigan.

In summary- I think there will be a point where Houston will start growing faster than Dallas and eventually close in on the population there. At some point, that's going to happen.

It's inevitable to stop this city as long as it improves it's economy by diversifying and remains an active port location (trade with Caribbean & Central America & South America & Mexico). But if it doesn't improve it's economy before a major economic energy bust- then it will slow down by quite a lot.

25% ? This port is already enormous ! It's enough to surpass the LA port ?
With that + a real growth of the Texas Medical Center ( "the Silicon Valley of medicine" ), a huge growth of the green energy..etc..I think this city will be really diversified, the oil/gas sector share is lower each year in the Houston's economy.
The growth of the port = really good news for the city because in 2014 the Panama channel/canal (sorry I'm not sure of the translation) will be larger, and Obama wants to double exports in 5 years..And Texas is the first exporter state in the US !