Population swell

Booming Texas could be the most populated state by 2100, new study finds

They're coming, y'all.

Photo by Getty Images

Houston could be the nation's second-biggest metro by 2100, and now a new report says Texas might be the most populous state by the next century.

The population study by moving experts moveBuddha estimates Texas will be home to nearly 96 million people by 2100, which amounts to a 213.8 percent population increase. The Lone Star State will far outshine California, which is currently the most populated state with more than 39 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Texas only crossed the 30 million population milestone in July 2022, so there's still quite some time to get to that near-100 million mark in 77 years.

Overall, the analysis says, Southern states are predicted to grow exponentially by the turn of the next century. Florida will follow right behind Texas as the second most populated state, with an estimated growth of nearly 68.5 million people. California is expected to fall into No. 3, with an estimated population of just under 50.4 million by 2100.

However, just as moveBuddha caveated Austin's local 2100 population estimate with the unknown effects of climate change and a general uncertainty to predict the future, the state-by-state report includes similar warnings.

"We don’t know how climate change will affect migration patterns, and we don’t know the effects of new technologies," the report says. "Many Americans are leaving large cities and cold-weather states for less congested places and warmer climates, especially for the winter months."

Additional factors that might contribute to future migration patterns include housing affordability, lower taxes, and the number of Baby Boomers who decide to retire over the next several decades. And in Texas, specifically, moveBuddha says, the state will have to develop more and better infrastructure to handle the anticipated growth.

"Large Texas metropolitan areas like Dallas, Austin, and Houston will have to build much more infrastructure and combat the same big-city problems like crime and expensive housing that have made Americans move from places like Chicago and New York City," the report says.

According to the report, the top 10 biggest states and their populations by 2100 will be:

No. 1 – Texas (95,699,438)
No. 2 – Florida (68,495,750)
No. 3 – California (50,394,266)
No. 4 – Georgia (23,904,874)
No. 5 – North Carolina (23,049,547)
No. 6 – New York (20,214,987)
No. 7 – Washington (19,301,336)
No. 8 – Arizona (18,516,915)
No. 9 – Colorado (14,640,993)
No. 10 – Virginia (14,400,363)

Population projections were calculated with Census data between 1910 and 2023, using an annual compound growth rate for all states to estimate the population growth by 2100.

The full report and its methodology can be found on movebuddha.com.

population growth texas reports growth

SUDDEN SHUTTERS

GameStop to close 11 Houston-area stores amid nationwide cuts

GameStop/ Facebook

Long lines for video game releases are a rarity these days.

For GameStop, it’s a blood bath right out of Mortal Kombat. The Grapevine-based video game chain is expected to shed 470 locations nationwide, including 11 in the greater Houston area.

The closures were revealed in the company's newest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that said it would close "a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025" ending on January 31. In its last fiscal year, GameStop shuttered 590 locations.

In addition to braving the overall “retail apocalypse,” the retailer faces the same conditions that largely decimated CD and video stores. Video games are now available for digital download in seconds and no longer require a trip to a physical store.

“As a part of our profitability initiative, we are reducing our global store base, which includes closing stores that are not meeting performance standards or stores at the end of their lease terms with the intent of transferring sales to other nearby locations,” the company wrote in its annual report. “ If we are unsuccessful in marketing to customers of the stores that we plan to close or in transferring sales to nearby stores, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.”

The current digital squeeze isn’t the first time GameStop has been thrown for a loop by contemporary internet culture. In 2021, the retailer famously became a meme stock, buoyed by users of Reddit's r/wallstreetbets. The skyrocketing increase in its stock price, followed by short selling, caused major financial consequences for hedge funds and other investors.

Since then, the stock price has been more stable but has decreased approximately 21 percent over the last year. After CEO Ryan Cohen bought 500,000 shares in the company on January 21, the price has slightly rebounded.

GameStop has not issued a formal list of the closures, and a request for more information was not returned at press time. But Ohio’s WKYC Studios put together a list of all the U.S. stores that are on the chopping block, verified through GameStop’s online store locator. The Texas closings are as follows:

Allen – The Village at Allen, 170 E. Stacy Rd
Arlington – Little School Road Shops, 1245 N. Little School Rd
Austin – Ben White Payload Center, 500 E. Ben White Blvd
Balch Springs – Lake June Plaza, 12209 Lake June Rd
Boerne – Menger Crossing, 1375 S. Main St
Cedar Park – Lakeline Plaza, 11066 Pecan Park Blvd
Conroe – Conroe Center, 1231 N. Loop 336 W
Corpus Christi – Padre Island Drive, 1805 S. Padre Island Dr
Corsicana – Corsicana Marketplace, 3811 W. Highway 31
Dallas – Glen Oaks Crossing, 4787 Vista Wood Blvd
El Paso – Alameda Town Center, 9411 Alameda Ave
El Paso – Fountains at Farah, 8889 Gateway West Blvd
Fort Worth – Clifford Retail, 301 Clifford Center Dr
Garland – Ridgewood Village, 2930 S. First St
Houston – Beechnut Street Houston, 10100 Beechnut St
Houston – Bellaire Gessner Center, 8880 Bellaire Blvd
Houston – Market at Uvalde, 13706 East Fwy
Houston – Market Square, 13341 Westheimer Rd
Houston – Oxford Plaza, 10407 North Fwy
Houston – Royal Oaks, 11807 Westheimer Rd
Houston – Wayside Shopping Center, 900 S. Wayside Dr
Huntsville – Ravenwood Village, 245 Interstate 45 N
Irving – MacArthur Park, 7601 N. MacArthur Blvd
Lake Jackson – Lake Jackson Shopping Center, 121 Highway 332 W
La Marque – LaMarque Crossing, 6408 Interstate 45
Laredo – Laredo Crossing Shopping Center, 4415 S. Zapata Hwy
Leon Valley – 5601 Bandera Rd
Lubbock – 7th St Lubbock, 1803 Seventh St
Magnolia – Westwood Village, 33020 FM 2978 Rd
Mansfield – Mansfield Crossing, 1301 E. Debbie Ln
Marble Falls – Highland Lakes, 2400 US Highway 281
McKinney – Lake Forest Crossing, 4100 S. Lake Forest Dr
Mesquite – Town East Mall, 2050 Town East Mall
Mission – Shary Plaza, 808 S. Shary Rd
Palmhurst – Palmhurst Shopping Center, 4416 N. Conway Ave
Paris – Paris Corners, 3842 Lamar Ave
Saginaw – Cross Pointe Shopping Center, 1453 N. Saginaw Blvd
San Antonio – Alamo Quarry Market, E. 255 Basse Rd
San Antonio – Blanco Road, 7117 Blanco Rd
San Antonio – Huebner Oaks Center, 11745 W. I-10
San Antonio – Northwoods Phase III, 1742 N. Loop 1604 E
San Antonio – Walzem Plaza, 5366 Walzem Rd
Stephenville – Stephenville Shopping Center, 2811 W. Washington St
Sulphur Springs – Sulphur Springs Corners, 1707 S. Broadway St
Terrell – Terrell Corner, 1888 W. Moore Ave
Tyler – State Highway 64 Tyler, 3842 State Highway 64 W
Watauga – Watauga Town Crossing, 8004 Denton Hwy

video games retail closings