The U.S. Census Bureau just released its 2015 county and metro-area population numbers, and, not surprisingly, Austin continued to grow.
A little more than 57,000 people moved to the Austin-Round Rock area between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015, and that puts it in the 14th spot on the list of the top 20 growing metro areas.
Also of note is Hays County, the fifth fastest-growing county (by percentage), which saw its population boom by 5.2 percent — an increase of nearly 10,000 people over the year. Travis County, which welcomed 25,562 new residents, saw an increase of 2.2 percent. The county’s population is a little less than 1.2 million.
The growth isn’t unique to Central Texas within the Lone Star State. Overall, Texas metro areas saw more growth overall than any other state. The Houston metro area saw the largest numeric gains in the country: The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area saw an increase of 159,083 over the year. They’re followed closely by the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, which gained 144,704 residents.
Texas counties make up eight of the top 20 expanding counties based on numeric growth. Harris County led the country in numeric change, expanding by more than 90,000. Bexar County was number five on the list; Tarrant County, number six; Dallas County, nine; Fort Bend County, 13; Collin County, 14; Denton County, 16 and Travis at 17.
Texas counties also make up eight of the top 20 expanding counties based on the percent change, rather than actual people numbers. At a growth rate of 5.2 percent, Hays County was the fifth-fastest growing; Comal County falls at number eight on the list; Fort Bend County at number 10; Kendall County at 13; Gaines County at 14; Waller County at 15; and Andrews County, which grew by 3.71 percent, is number 20.
A total of four Texas metro areas placed on the list of biggest growing cities: the Houston area is fastest of all followed by Dallas; Austin-Round Rock, and then the San Antonio-New Braunfels area grew almost as much, putting it at 15th on the list. Those metro areas all combined saw the population increase by more than 400,000.
The statistics, released by the U.S. Census Bureau early Thursday, show the population changes for 381 metro areas and 3,142 counties across the U.S.
All above data and graphics are from the U.S. Census Bureau.
