The meteoric rise of the Austin metro area’s population continues skyward. From 2017 to 2018, the region added about 145 residents per day, according to population estimates released April 17 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Put another way, the five-county Austin area gained 53,086 residents in just one year, the Census Bureau says. That’s as if the region absorbed a city around the size of Leander, a Williamson County suburb, every 365 days.

All in all, the Austin area ranked first for the percentage of population growth (2.5 percent) from 2017 to 2018 among U.S. metro areas with at least 1 million residents, the bureau’s estimates show. That represents an eight-year run for Austin atop the list of the fastest-growing large metro areas.

The bureau’s estimates take into account people moving into and out of the Austin area, as well as births and deaths. In other words, 53,086 people did not move to the region in a single year. However, about 70 percent of the Austin area’s one-year growth did come from domestic and international migration, according to the Census Bureau.

Among U.S. metro areas, Austin ranked seventh for numeric population growth from 2017 to 2018, the Census Bureau says. On July 1, 2017, the bureau counted an estimated 2,115,230 residents in the Austin area. On the same date on July 1, 2018, the area’s population stood at 2,168,316. Nationally, the Austin area ranked 13th for percentage growth.

If you think that growth rate is impressive, consider the Austin area’s leap in population from 2010 to 2018.

For that period, Austin ranked third among all U.S. metro areas for population growth on a percentage basis. The Census Bureau says the region’s headcount shot up 26.3 percent from 2010 to 2018, going from 1,716,321 to 2,168,316.

Ryan Robinson, the City of Austin’s demographer, predicts the area will see a 2.75 percent population bump from 2018 to 2019.

“With the pace of overall job creation remaining near 3.5 percent in Austin, anyone would be hard-pressed to predict much of a slowdown,” Robinson told CultureMap in February. “And anecdotally, the number and magnitude of recent office space leasing agreements with big national corporate names just blows me away. I would have never imagined that our current boom would be refueling at this point. [Get] ready for another couple of crazy years.”

Hays County has done its part to feed the Austin area’s growth. From 2010 to 2018, the county’s population climbed 41.7 percent — from 157,099 to 222,631. Among U.S. counties, Hays County ranked second for population growth on a percentage basis during that time, according to the Census Bureau.

From 2017 to 2018 alone, the population of Hays County grew by 3.9 percent.

Elsewhere in Texas:

• Dallas-Fort Worth led U.S. metro areas for numeric growth in population from 2017 to 2018, adding 131,767 residents. In just one year, the region’s population rocketed from 7,407,944 to 7,539,711 (1.8 percent).
• Houston ranked third among U.S. metro areas for numeric growth in population from 2017 to 2018, picking up 91,689 residents. The region’s population increased from 6,905,695 to 6,997,384 (1.3 percent).
• The population of the San Antonio metro area grew 1.8 percent from 2017 to 2018, going from 2,474,274 to 2,518,036. In that one-year span, the area added 43,762 residents.
• For 2017 to 2018, Comal County ranked sixth among U.S. counties for percentage growth in population. The number of residents jumped 36.8 percent, from 108,485 to 148,373.
• In seventh place for percentage population growth among U.S. counties from 2017 to 2018 was Kendall County. The number of residents soared 36.6 percent, from 33,411 to 45,641.
• Among U.S. counties, Fort Bend County ranked 10th for population growth on a percentage basis from 2017 to 2018. The headcount spiked 34.7 percent, from 584,690 to 787,858.