Californians leaving for the Lone Star state

The state of Texas seems to have an appeal for recession-fatigued Californians, who last year uprooted in noticeable droves.

According to new U.S. Census numbers and analysis by the Houston Chronicle, an estimated 70,000 traded the Golden State for the Lone Star State in 2010. More than 363,000 people moved out of California to Texas in the last five years.

Unprecedented? No, says Texas State Data Center director Lloyd Potter. Historically, movement back and forth between the two states is common.

Texas’ 8.5 percent unemployment rate — compared with 11.9 percent in California — gets most of the credit for the recent spike in Texas population growth, Potter added.

Barbecue aficionados might argue Texas ribs had something to do with it.