Austin Population Explosion Continues

Austin’s population continues to rapidly grow. For real estate owners, this may be good news — increasing population with static supply often means price appreciation. While real estate prices in Austin have stayed relatively flat, rental rates are beginning to soar. Over the next few years, as the population is predicted to continue to soar, central Austin real estate prices may well follow.

The Census is conducted every decade — this is our first look at the actual Austin results from the last 10 years.

Here are some key statistics on growth over the last decade:

– Austin’s population grew by 20.4% to 790,390
– Travis County’s population grew by 26.1 percent to 1,024,266
– The five county Austin area saw population increase by more than 500,000 people
– Growth in Asian and Hispanic residents drove 71% of Austin’s population change
– Texas led the nation in population growth with a 20.6 percent increase to 25.1 million
– 85% of the Texas population now lives on the I-35 corridor (that explain’s the traffic!)
– Austin population is 48.7% Non-Hispanic whites, 35% Hispanic, 7.7% African American, and 6.3% Asian. Austin’s African American population shrunk from 64,259 to 60,760

Across the State, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Worth all saw strong growth. Here are the statistics:

Fort Worth (+38.6%):
534,694 —> 741,206

Austin (+20.4%):
656,562 —> 790,390

San Antonio (+16.0%):
1,144,646 —> 1,327,407

Houston (+7.5%):
1,953,631 —> 2,099,451

Dallas (+0.8%) :
1,188,580 —> 1,197,816

The statistics for top cities only tell part of the picture as the most rapid growth over the decade was in the suburban areas outside the official boundaries of the largest cities.

Downtown Austin bucked this trend with tremendous population growth during the decade. While we haven’t seen the official 2010 census numbers, a 2009 estimate suggested 44% growth in zip code 78701 between 2000 and 2009.

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