Austin's been called a lot of things. Dynamic. Spirited. Dog-friendly. Overrated.
For years, the city was, almost comedically, featured on dozens of top 10 lists as a tourist destination or a (relatively) affordable place to live. People, as they oft do, drank the Flavor-Aid.
What followed was a meteoric rise in population, development and growth that put this once-sleepy college town on another list: the top 10 most populous cities.
Austin ranked tenth last year for the first time, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday that Jacksonville — a city still reeling from the loss of all three of its Red Lobster locations – has usurped Austin's 10th-place fiefdom on the list. With an estimated 979,882 residents, Austin is now relegated back to the 11 spot on the bureau's list.
For many Austinites, this demotion is perhaps a welcome respite from the meteoric rise in housing costs. That's an issue that's roiled Austin for decades — and one that, to this day, we're still grappling with.
Austin's City Demographer Lila Valencia said it's because of those reasons that Austin's seen that throttle-down in population growth.
"With volatility rattling the tech sector, housing costs rising post-pandemic, and more opportunities for remote work, it’s not surprising to see population growth slowing and Austin slipping back into position as the 11th largest city," she said in a statement.
While Austin still saw an influx of people in the last year, it was a paltry 4,464 now-Austinites.
To them, we extend a heartfelt welcome. While we may not be in the top 10 and we may not be as "weird" as you thought, at least we — unlike Jacksonville — still have Red Lobster.
