Not sure where you’re traveling, but Texas and California look pretty similar here. Look at LA and Austin. I think we were talking about Texas, not Arkansas, right?
https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates
The California numbers are a little higher, sure. Part of the problem in Texas is that things have got a lot more expensive in the last several years. This has people upset.
I thought we were talking about blue states vs. red states. CA and TX are blue states, AR is a red state. I didn’t think we were comparing TX to CA.