Authoritative ranked corridors for domain-network planning. 40 cities across 4 categories, deduped to a master set of unique domains needed.
Topic 9: Domain Network PlanningTop 10 domestic origin metros sending residents to Houston, ranked by volume share.
| # | City/Metro | Migration Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, CA BIDIRECTIONAL | LA County is the #1 out-of-state origin for Harris County; California sends 14% of all TX in-migration | Census ACS; HireAHelper 2025 |
| 2 | New York, NY | 3.36% of out-of-state moves to TX; sustained NYC-to-Houston corporate relocations (energy sector) | HireAHelper 2025; GHP |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | Illinois sends 3.68% of TX inbound; cost-of-living + tax migration driver | HireAHelper 2025; U-Haul |
| 4 | San Francisco, CA | Bay Area tech workers relocating to Houston's emerging tech/energy-tech sector; part of 14% CA share | Census ACS; Redfin 2024 |
| 5 | Miami, FL | Florida sends 9.2% to TX (2nd largest source state); Miami cost-of-living + insurance driving exits | HireAHelper 2025 |
| 6 | Denver, CO BIDIRECTIONAL | Colorado sends 4.55% of TX inbound (3rd largest source state); cost + remote work rebalancing | HireAHelper 2025 |
| 7 | Phoenix, AZ BIDIRECTIONAL | Arizona sends 3.85% of TX inbound; heat + water concerns driving some AZ-to-TX moves | HireAHelper 2025 |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA BIDIRECTIONAL | Georgia sends 3.47% of TX inbound; corporate corridor (energy, logistics, healthcare) | HireAHelper 2025; TPJG CRM |
| 9 | Washington, DC | DC/Maryland/Virginia corridor feeding Houston's government contractor + defense sector relocations | Census ACS; Multi-city network KB |
| 10 | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana sends 3.54% of TX inbound; hurricane/insurance exodus + energy industry lateral moves | HireAHelper 2025; U-Haul |
Top 10 domestic destination metros receiving Houston residents, ranked by volume.
| # | City/Metro | Migration Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | Intra-TX #1 destination; 24.4% of Houston's intra-state outbound; DFW is #1 U-Haul growth metro | HireAHelper 2025; U-Haul 2025 |
| 2 | Austin, TX | 14.4% of Houston intra-state outbound; tech sector magnet; #3 U-Haul growth metro 2025 | HireAHelper 2025; U-Haul 2025 |
| 3 | Denver, CO BIDIRECTIONAL | Colorado is #3 destination for Texans leaving (6.33%); lifestyle + outdoor amenities | HireAHelper 2025 |
| 4 | Nashville, TN | Tennessee rising; no state income tax + entertainment/healthcare industry growth | U-Haul 2025; Multi-city network KB |
| 5 | Charlotte, NC | North Carolina is #5 destination for TX outbound (3.82%); banking + moderate climate | HireAHelper 2025; Redfin 2024 |
| 6 | Tampa, FL | Florida is #1 destination for Texans leaving (8.53%); Tampa leads FL for young professionals | HireAHelper 2025 |
| 7 | Raleigh, NC | Research Triangle draws Houston tech/pharma workers; rising moveBuddha search interest | moveBuddha 2025; Multi-city network KB |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA BIDIRECTIONAL | Major corporate corridor; bidirectional energy/logistics flow | TPJG CRM; Census ACS |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ BIDIRECTIONAL | Arizona is major outbound for TX; affordable Sun Belt alternative with tech growth | Census ACS; U-Haul 2025 |
| 10 | Los Angeles, CA BIDIRECTIONAL | LA County is both #1 origin AND top out-of-state destination for Harris County residents | Census ACS; nchstats 2025 |
Top 10 international origin metros sending immigrants/relocators to Houston, ranked by population volume.
| # | City/Metro/Country | Migration Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City, Mexico BIDIRECTIONAL | Mexico is #1 source country for Houston immigrants; 900K+ Mexican-born residents in metro | MPI Houston Profile; Census ACS |
| 2 | New Delhi / Mumbai, India BIDIRECTIONAL | India is #2 source; Sugar Land/Katy Indian community among largest in US; tech/medical professionals | MPI; Census ACS 2023 |
| 3 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Houston has 3rd-largest Vietnamese-American community in US (~85K); Midtown/Bellaire corridor | Census ACS; MPI |
| 4 | Lagos / Abuja, Nigeria BIDIRECTIONAL | Houston has largest Nigerian diaspora in US; energy sector professional corridor | MPI; Census ACS |
| 5 | San Salvador, El Salvador | El Salvador is top 5 source; established community in east Houston/Pasadena; 24% citizenship rate | MPI Houston Profile |
| 6 | Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Honduran population more than doubled 2000-2023; among fastest-growing immigrant groups | MPI Houston Profile |
| 7 | Guangzhou / Beijing, China | China is top 5 source country; Bellaire/Sugar Land Chinese communities; education + investment | Census ACS; MPI |
| 8 | Manila, Philippines | Filipino community well-established in Houston healthcare + energy sectors; ~50K metro residents | Census ACS; Multi-city network KB |
| 9 | Bogota, Colombia | Colombian community growing rapidly; energy + professional services corridor | Census ACS; Multi-city network KB |
| 10 | Caracas, Venezuela | Venezuelan migration surge post-2017; energy sector professionals + humanitarian arrivals | Census ACS; MPI |
Top 10 international destination metros receiving Houston expats/relocators, ranked by corridor strength.
| # | City/Metro | Migration Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dubai, UAE | Top expat destination for Houston energy professionals; major O&G corporate transfer corridor | GHP; Energy sector data |
| 2 | London, UK | Energy/finance corporate transfer corridor; BP, Shell HQ connections | GHP; Corporate relocation data |
| 3 | Toronto, Canada | Tech + energy professionals; immigration-friendly; cultural proximity corridor | Multi-city network KB; Census outflow |
| 4 | Mexico City, Mexico BIDIRECTIONAL | Return migration + nearshoring trend; US expat community growing; family reunification | Census ACS; MPI |
| 5 | Singapore | Energy sector Asia-Pacific hub; LNG/petrochemical corporate transfers from Houston | GHP; Energy sector data |
| 6 | Mumbai, India BIDIRECTIONAL | Return migration for tech/medical professionals; family + business ties corridor | Census ACS; Multi-city network KB |
| 7 | Lagos, Nigeria BIDIRECTIONAL | Return migration + business development; energy sector bilateral corridor | Census ACS; Multi-city network KB |
| 8 | Monterrey, Mexico | Nearshoring hub; manufacturing + trade corridor; closest major Mexican metro to Houston | Multi-city network KB; Trade data |
| 9 | Calgary, Canada | Energy sector twin city; O&G professional transfers; pipeline/upstream corridor | Multi-city network KB; Energy sector |
| 10 | Panama City, Panama | Retirement + business hub; Latin America gateway for Houston entrepreneurs | Multi-city network KB; Expat data |
40 entries collapse to 33 unique cities (7 appear in 2+ lists = bidirectional corridors needing only ONE domain each). Purple = bidirectional corridor.
Cities appearing in 2+ of the 4 lists are flagged as bidirectional corridors. For domain planning, each bidirectional city needs only ONE domain (not separate inbound/outbound domains). This reduces the 40 raw entries to 33 unique domain slots.
| City | Lists Appearing In | Domain Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Inbound #1 + Outbound #10 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| Denver | Inbound #6 + Outbound #3 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| Phoenix | Inbound #7 + Outbound #9 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| Atlanta | Inbound #8 + Outbound #8 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| Mexico City | Intl Inbound #1 + Intl Outbound #4 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| India (Delhi/Mumbai) | Intl Inbound #2 + Intl Outbound #6 | 1 domain covers both directions |
| Nigeria (Lagos/Abuja) | Intl Inbound #4 + Intl Outbound #7 | 1 domain covers both directions |
Per instructions, Texas suburbs excluded from city lists: Alamo Heights, Boerne, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Frisco, Plano, Round Rock, McKinney, Southlake, Allen, Prosper, New Braunfels, Stone Oak, Pflugerville. Major TX metros (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio) retained.
International inbound is ranked by immigrant POPULATION size in Houston (accumulated flow), not annual rate, because Census data captures stock not flow at the metro level. International outbound is ranked by corridor strength (energy sector transfers, corporate relocations, return migration patterns) since Census does not track outbound international migration systematically.
| List | Confidence | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Inbound | HIGH | Multiple overlapping sources (U-Haul, HireAHelper, Census ACS, Redfin) all converge |
| Domestic Outbound | HIGH | HireAHelper state-level + Redfin metro-level + Census county-level all align |
| International Inbound | HIGH | Census ACS foreign-born data is authoritative; MPI Houston Profile validates |
| International Outbound | MEDIUM | Less systematic data; inferred from energy sector patterns + KB + return migration |
Of the 33 unique cities in this master set, 28 already have Multi-city network corridor pages built. The 5 NOT yet covered by Multi-city network pages:
Coverage is strong. Domain planning can proceed with confidence that content infrastructure already supports most corridors.