Hays County is the Third-Fastest Growing U.S. County

Austin, Texas may be making the news for its tremendous growth, but it’s not just Austin proper that is seeing a rise in its population. Hays County, which is just south of Austin and includes cities such as Buda and Kyle, was the third-fastest growing county in the United States in 2014 by percentage growth, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Williamson County, to the north of Austin, was the tenth-fastest growing.

The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University summarized the findings, as reported by the Austin Business Journal.

The Austin Board of Realtors® often cites Austin housing prices as a main reason people are moving to area suburbs, such as to those cities in Hays County, as well as to the Williamson County cities of Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Leander.

The Austin area grew from 1,883,051 residents in 2013 to 1,943,299 residents in 2014, according to the article. This equates to adding 60,248 residents for a growth rate of 3.2 percent. Including babies born in Austin, this is an average of 165 new Austin-area residents a day.

Hays County added 8,999 residents, growing from 176,026 in 2013 to 185,025 in 2014, an increase of 5.11 percent. Williamson County added 18,236 residents, growing from 471,014 in 2013 to 489,250 in 2014, an increase of 3.87 percent.

Texas added 508,765 residents in the same time frame, growing from 26,448,193 residents to 26,956,958 residents, for an increase of 1.92 percent.

For projections on how much central Texas’ population is expected to grow, also see our article, How Much Will Austin’s Suburbs Grow? based on a LawnStarter analysis.