The difference is that Chesa Boudin, SF's DA, won't prosecute those misdemeanors (and often won't even prosecute felonies).

> “We will not prosecute cases involving quality-of-life crimes,” the DA, Chesa Boudin, said in an interview while he was campaigning for office. “Crimes such as public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination, blocking a sidewalk, etc., should not and will not be prosecuted.” Despite that — or maybe because of it — he was elected. [1]

> The initiative set a threshold of $950 for shoplifting to be considered a misdemeanor, which doesn't prompt law enforcement to make an arrest, rather than a felony, which could incur harsh penalties like jail time. "Some people calculate, 'Hey, you know, I don't want to go over the $950, so let me steal $949 worth of property,'" Scott said. "If it's a felony, our officers can take action," he added. "But if it's a misdemeanor, that arrest has to be a private person's arrest. And that makes a difference because they have to be willing to do that." [2]

[1] https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/559465-the-litt...

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-san-francisco-sho...

What's different is the enforcement of punishments.

quote from https://saputo.law/criminal-law/texas/theft-crimes/theft/:

    * Theft under $100 is a Class C Misdemeanor (punishable by a fine up to $500).

    * Theft between $100 and $750 is a Class B Misdemeanor (punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2000 fine). 
    If the value of the stolen property is under $100, it is still a Class B Misdemeanor theft if you have been previously convicted of theft of if the property stolen was an identification card like a driver’s license.

    * Theft between $750 and $2,500 is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4000 fine.

In California, you are not likely to see any jail time (and often you will not see any prosecution at all) for the same crime that will be prosecuted in Texas. It's not about felonies per se, but the general attitude towards punishing crime.

Stealing in Texas is a significantly riskier proposition than stealing from someone in California.

San Jose, and the peninsula don’t have nearly as much petty theft or shoplifting crime. And yet the laws are nearly identical. Only difference I can think of is the local community supporting the police.