New numbers out today from the U.S. Census Bureau show that five of the fastest growing cities in the nation are here in Texas.
Georgetown tops the list of cities with a population of 50,000 or more. The latest estimates show the Williamson County seat saw a 7.8 percent jump in residents over a recent one-year period.
“Housing in the urban cores is getting more and more expensive, and there are more and more people,” says Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter. “So, there’s pressure to develop out in almost concentric rings around the urban core.”
Pflugerville also came in as the nation's 11th fastest-growing large city.
Overall, the Austin-Round Rock metro area saw its population grow to more than 2 million for the first time. Potter says one unique trend happening in Texas cities is the growing rate of domestic migration – that’s people moving here from within the U.S.
“That’s part of the economy of people moving as well. It’s not just always the dollars, but there’s also the issue of, is living there going to be better? So, looking at leisure activities but then schools and things like that are big factors in terms of where people decide they’re going to live,” Potter says.
With plenty of land left to be developed, Potter says suburban sprawl shows no sign of slowing, and the booming population in Texas is likely to add to the challenges of managing resources and maintaining infrastructure.
Overall, Texas boasts five of the 11 fastest-growing cities in the Census data – Georgetown, Pflugerville, New Braunfels, Frisco and Pearland. And five of the eight cities that experienced the largest population increases were also in Texas – including Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas.
Below you can see tables of the overall numbers from the Census Bureau.
