A Heavyweight Fight

Texas and California are the two most populous states in the country and, after Alaska, the two largest by area as well. But as much as they have those things in common—these are two very different states. Which one is the best state in the country?

Let the battle begin...

Population

Texas: 31,290,831

California: 39,431,263

Those numbers are according to the 2024 Census. And if you were curious—the next closest state is Florida with 23,372,215.

Talena Reese, Pexels

Population: California

Now, it's worth pointing out that since 2020, California has seen its population decline by about 100,000, while Texas has seen about 2 million more folks move into the state. However, the population win goes to California.

Konstandinos Goumenidis, Wikimedia Commons

Became A State

Texas: March 1, 1845

California: September 9, 1850

Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Became A State: Texas

Both states joined the union in the back-half of the 50—with Texas becoming the 28th state and California the 31st. Not that it was a race—but Texas takes this one.

Bradley Gordon, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Median Household Income

Texas: $75,780

California: $95,521

Numbers are from 2023, based on surveys by the United States Census Bureau.

stevepb, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Median Household Income: California

Not only does California have a significantly higher median household income, but at $75,780, Texas is about $2,000 below the $77,719 average for the country.

Ron Reiring, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Number Of Presidents

Texas: 2

California: 1

The fact that only three presidents in total have come from the two most populous states is an interesting fact.

Mathieu Landretti, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Number Of Presidents: Texas

Not only has Texas been the birthplace of more presidents than California, but Texas has also produced two of the best Presidents of the 20th Century (Dwight D Eisenhower and Lyndon B Johnson), whereas California was the home state of Richard Nixon. An easy win for Texas in this category.

White House, Wikimedia Commons

Size

Texas: 268,596 square miles

California: 163,695 square miles

Although they sit in second and third place in the country, both Texas and California look small when compared to Alaska with its 665,384 square miles.

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Size: Texas

Does size matter? In this case it does, and Texas takes the win here.

formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sports Championships

Texas: 24

California: 64

Looking at championship teams in: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, and Soccer.

Fabiopao, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sports Championships: California

California: Football (14), Basketball (20), Baseball (18), Hockey (3), Soccer (9)

Texas: Football (8), Basketball (12), Baseball (1), Hockey (1), Soccer (2)

Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Literacy Rate

Texas: 81.0%

California: 76.9%

Looking at the three literacy skills (prose, document, and quantitative), the National Assessment of Adult Literacy has calculated a literacy percentage for every state in the union.

Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Literacy Rate: Texas

Texas wins this one, but both states find themselves at the bottom of the pack in this category among the five lowest in the country:

California: 76.9%

New York: 77.9%

Florida: 80.3%

Texas: 81.0%

New Jersey: 83.1%

Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Best Tippers

Texas: 18.8%

California: 17.4%

Based on a 2024 report by digital restaurant platform Toast.

Nan Palmero, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Best Tippers: Texas

Not only does California lose this round—they come in last in the country. At the very top of the best tippers list sits Delaware (22.1%).

inkknife_2000, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Crime Rate

Texas: 4,937

California: 4,720

These are numbers for 2024.

Bob Jagendorf, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Crime Rate: California

When it comes to the crime rate, like in golf, the lower the better. And for those wondering: New Mexico has the highest crime rate of all the states (6,462), while the highest crime rate in the country belongs to the District of Columbia (7,986).

Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Life Expectancy

Texas: 76.5

California: 79.0

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global life expectancy as of 2016 was 72.0 years: 74.2 for women, 69.8 for men.

Pedro Nascimento, Pexels

Life Expectancy: California

As far as average life expectancy in the United States goes, you'll find different numbers from different sources, but the latest figures from the OECD are: 78.5 years, 80.0 years (CIA), and 78.6 years (CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Monica Silvestre, Pexels

Cost Of Living

Texas: 29th

California: 50th

Natasha Chebanoo, Pexels

Cost Of Living: Texas

According to a US News and World Report ranking of the states, California has the highest cost of living in the country. So, Texas gets the win here.

Steve, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Nobel Laureates

Texas: 5

California: 19

America has over 400 Nobel Laureates.

Hildabast, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Nobel Laureates: California

Cali takes this one by a healthy margin. And for those wondering: California is ranked fourth in the country for Nobel Laureates behind New York (#1), Illinois (#2), and Massachusetts (#3).

Roxanne Makasdjian, Alan Toth, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Friendliest State

Texas: 4

California: 40

Southern hospitality is a real thing.

Matt Brown, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Friendliest State: Texas

Big 7 Travel asked over 2 million of their followers on social media to vote on the friendliest states. The only states that got more votes than Texas were: Minnesota, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Carol M. Highsmith, Wikimedia Commons

Median Home Prices

Texas: $349,000

California: $869,000

Median sale prices for single-family residential properties as of October 2024.

Rifi Gerwiciel, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Median Home Prices: Texas

Nowhere in the country are the median home prices higher than they are in California—except in the District of Columbia where the number crosses the million-dollar threshold: $1,195,000. Texas takes this round easy.

Jim Evans, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Happiest State

Texas: 38

California: 13

Hawaii is the happiest.

allen watkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Happiest State: California

This report, put out by WalletHub, ranked the happiest states in America in three main categories to determine their final "happiness" score: Emotional & Physical Well-Being, Work Environment, and Community & Environment.

Texas came in as the 38th happiest state while California landed in 3th place.

David Ball, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Air Quality

Texas: 45

California: 48

Kristoffer Trolle, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Air Quality: Texas

Texas takes this one—but neither state should be proud of their showing in this category, as both land in the bottom five of the 50 states.

Lamiot, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

National Parks

Texas: 2

California: 9

Steevven1, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

National Parks: California

Texas: Big Bend National Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park

California: Channel Islands National Park, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Pinnacles National Park, Redwood National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park.

Tuxyso, Wikimedia Commons

Income Tax

Texas: 0%

California: More than 0%

Mikhail Nilov, Pexels

Income Tax: Texas

While the income tax rate in California ranges from 1-12.3% depending on how much money you make, Texas doesn't have a state income tax.

salewskia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Banned Books

Texas: 625

California: 1

Ralf Roletschek, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Banned Books: California

Based on stats from the 2022-23 school year, Texas banned 625 books from school libraries, while California only banned one. For Texas, that is down from the 801 of the previous school year, but still a whole lot. Although, it did drop them into second place on the list behind Florida who went from 566 in 2021-22 to 1,406 in 2022-23.

college.library, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Health Care

Texas: 31st

California: 6th

Based on a US News and World Report ranking looking at health care access, health care quality, and public health.

Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Health Care: California

Texas: Health Care Quality (31st), Public Health (20th) Health Care Access (40th)

California: Health Care Quality (7th), Public Health (4th) Health Care Access (25th)

Molly Adams, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

And The Winner Is...

Texas: 10

California: 10

Well, according to these highly un-scientific results...it's a TIE. Thoughts?

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Kaboompics, Pexels

Sources: 1, 2