Austin will be 5th fastest growing U.S. metro in coming years

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Austin Business Journal

The population of the Austin metro area will grow to more than 2.7 million by the year 2025, according to an analysis of government data by bizjournals.

The projected growth rate of Austin and its suburbs ranks 5th among 250 U.S. metropolitan areas studied in the report.

Bizjournals forecasts that the Austin-Round Rock area will grow nearly 87 percent from its 2005 estimated population of nearly 1.5 million to a 2025 projected population of 2.7 million, an increase of nearly 1.3 million residents.

Austin will see the most growth of any Texas city , according to the bizjournals analysis. The McAllen-Edinburg area will be the second-fastest growing metro in Texas , ranking 22nd on the list with an estimated 56 percent growth in population.

Among the major Texas cities:

Dallas/Fort Worth ranks 26th with a projected 50 percent population increase to 8.8 million people;

Houston ranks 27th with a projected 48 percent population increase to 7.9 million people;

San Antonio ranks 40th with a projected 41 percent population increase to 2.7 million people.