Moving from Texas to California
45,447 people moved from Texas to California in 2024, the eighth busiest of the 57 interstate moves covered here; 77,161 moved the other way.
The year you move. Texas has no income tax return to file. California taxes the income you earn from the day you become a resident, on a part-year resident return, and income from California sources before then.
Local income tax at each end. Texas: no local income tax. California: no local income tax.
At $100,000 a single filer pays $4,911 a year for moving from Texas to California — $409 a month. Texas charges $0 at that income and California charges $4,911, an effective 0.00% against 4.91%. California vs Texas, side by side.
The gap is not constant. At $50,000 it is $973; at $500,000 it is $43,543. Texas levies no individual income tax, so this move introduces a state income tax bill where you had none.
The move priced at every income
State income tax in both jurisdictions for tax year 2026, at the standard tiers. Change the filing status to see how the answer moves.
| Income | Texas tax | California tax | Change per year | Change per month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $0 | $973 | +$973 | +$81 | 0.00% → 1.95% |
| $75,000 | $0 | $2,665 | +$2,665 | +$222 | 0.00% → 3.55% |
| $100,000 | $0 | $4,911 | +$4,911 | +$409 | 0.00% → 4.91% |
| $150,000 | $0 | $9,561 | +$9,561 | +$797 | 0.00% → 6.37% |
| $250,000 | $0 | $18,861 | +$18,861 | +$1,572 | 0.00% → 7.54% |
| $500,000 | $0 | $43,543 | +$43,543 | +$3,629 | 0.00% → 8.71% |
Want a figure for your own income? Open this pair in the moving calculator, which also takes Maryland county and New York City local taxes.
Both states at $100,000
Texas (leaving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026California (arriving)
$100,000 · Single · TY2026How many people make this move
45,447 people moved from Texas to California in 2024, give or take 6,640 — the American Community Survey is a sample, and its margin of error on a flow this size is wide. That makes it the eighth busiest of the 57 interstate moves with a page of their own.
The traffic runs both ways: 77,161 people moved the other way, from California to Texas, in the same year. That is a net 31,714 toward Texas. The return trip has its own page: moving from California to Texas.
Movers: U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1. State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 (American Community Survey 1-year estimates) (retrieved 2026-09-23). Universe: population 1 year and over in the united states. Tax figures are computed from each state's own rate schedule and are unrelated to this dataset.
What else changes between Texas and California
Capital gains. A long-term gain meets a top rate of 0.00% in Texas and 13.30% in California.
Texas, today: Texas taxes no individual capital gain. Article VIII, section 24-a of the Texas Constitution, added by H.J.R. 38 in 2019, provides that "The legislature may not impose a tax on the net incomes of individuals, including an individual's share of partnership and unincorporated association income."
California, after the move: California is the plainest statement of the rule in the country and the most expensive. The Franchise Tax Board states: "California does not have a lower rate for capital gains. All capital gains are taxed as ordinary income." For 2026 the top bracket is 12.3%, and a 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on taxable income over $1,000,000 takes the top to 13.3%, the highest rate on a long-term gain anywhere in the United States. Compare every state.
Retirement income. California: California excludes U.S. Social Security benefits and equivalent Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits from taxable income. Compare every state.
Direction of travel. Texas's top rate has not moved since 2021. California's top rate has not moved since 2021. Texas history · California history.
What this does not answer
State income tax only. Property tax, sales tax and housing costs usually matter more to a moving decision than the figures on this page, and none of them is here.
Rates are tax year 2026. Sources: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and California Franchise Tax Board. How we verify this data · Disclaimer