Austin's Growing up

Austin metro area population booms with 157 new residents per day

Downtown Austin skyline in the evening across from Lady Bird Lake

Austin-Round Rock is the No. 3 fastest-growing metro in the U.S.

A new report has confirmed what we already know: A whole bunch of people are moving to Austin. So many, in fact, that Austin is now the fastest-growing metro area in the state and the third-fastest growing metro area in the country, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, the Austin-Round Rock metro area population expanded by 3 percent and reached an estimated total population of 1,943,299.

According to the new data, which comes from the Census Bureau’s annual population estimate program, the Austin-Round Rock metro area gained about 57,496 residents in that year. That's roughly 157 new residents per day.

The only metro areas that grew faster than Austin were Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, which grew by 3.2 percent, and The Villages, Florida, which grew by 5.4 percent. The Villages was the fastest-growing metro area in the country for the second year in a row.

A lot of the Lone Star State is growing quickly too. In addition to Austin, three other Texas metro areas were among the nation’s 20 fastest growing by rate of change. Odessa was No. 4, Midland was No. 9, and Houston was No. 11.

Texas also had the most counties in the country (11) on the list of the top 50 numerical gainers. Texas also had the two metro areas with the largest numeric increases. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (No. 1) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (No. 2) were the only metro areas in the country to add more than 100,000 residents between 2013 and 2014.

For the full report, go here.

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closing the gaps

Texas leads U.S. as No. 1 state for racial progress in 2025, per study

Texas African American History Memorial in Austin, Texas

Photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash

Texas has made great strides.

The Lone Star State has proven its commitment to improving racial equality for every Texan, according to WalletHub's 2025 ranking of "States with the Most Racial Progress." Texas has moved up into the No. 1 spot after ranking No. 2 in 2024.

The annual report measures the gaps between Black and white residents across 22 metrics of equality in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the rankings. States are scored across four main categories: employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas' No. 1 place refers to improvement over time, not overall better performance.

Texas earns top-five rankings in the the categories of health (No. 3) and education (No. 4), and ranks No. 8 in the study's social and civic engagement category. The state falls slightly behind in the employment and wealth category, ranking No. 13 overall for the second consecutive year.

WalletHub specifically praises Texas for its dedication to closing the health gaps between its white and Black residents. The report says Texas has reduced health insurance coverage gaps by 12.4 percent over the last three decades, and has lowered the share of Black residents that are "suffering from poor health and diabetes."

The state has also made progress with closing gaps in its business sector and the criminal justice system, the study found.

"For example, between 2002 and 2021, the gap in business ownership between white and Black residents decreased by 6.4 percentage points, the sixth-largest decrease in the nation," WalletHub said. "The disparity in the share of business executives who are white vs. Black also decreased by close to 8 percentage points, the seventh-largest decrease."

The report continues, "Finally, Texas is the fourth-best state when it comes to making racial progress in the parole system, which is important since Black people have faced a lot of discrimination in the criminal justice system throughout history."

In a similar ranking of states with the most racial integration, WalletHub ranked Texas No. 5 overall, marking a three-place improvement since 2024.

"Although the U.S. has made a lot of progress toward racial equality since the Civil Rights Movement, we still need to do better to ensure equal opportunities for everyone," the report said. "As we think about ways to improve equality in the future, we can also recognize the steps toward racial harmony we’ve already achieved — in our workplaces, in our schools and in our voting booths."

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2025, according to WalletHub, are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Wyoming
No. 3 – Mississippi
No. 4 – Georgia
No. 5 – New Jersey
No. 6 – New Mexico
No. 7 – Maryland
No. 8 – Connecticut
No. 9 – Florida
No. 10 – Idaho

wallethub holidays reports