I live in the Houston area, and scorpions are not common here. When you get out of the cities and into rural areas, they do start to show up. These scorpions are probably hitching rides on people from those outlying areas or third-worlders.
Okay. One of my daughters has a house in Austin (wooded area), and has to chase scorpions off her deck (as well as tarantulas which are a lesser concern). When I last visited, a tarantula walked around my feet in the driveway, which was interesting. If it was a scorpion, I would have jumped away.