Patriotic Places

Austin skyrockets up list of best places to celebrate 4th of July

Fireworks go kaboom around Austin.

Photo courtesy of Town of Addison

Austin is quite the star-spangled place to celebrate the 4th of July this year. A recent report by personal finance website WalletHub ranks the best and worst places to celebrate Independence Day.

Using 19 key metrics such as length of fireworks show, beer and wine prices, weather forecast, and safety, the website bases rankings on how well the 100 largest cities balance cost and fun.

Austin skyrocketed to the No. 25 spot, up from No. 48 in 2017. The Capital City scores high on 4th of July celebrations (No. 13) and affordability. (No. 10).

Where it did not shine, however, was attractions and activities (No. 42), safety and accessibility (No. 52), and weather (No. 62). (While we agree with you about the weather, WalletHub, we respectively disagree about the activities.) Though it ranks in the lower half for safety, ATX does land in the top five for fewest DUI-related fatalities per capita.

In Texas, Dallas ranks highest, coming in at the 11th spot, up from 41st in 2017. Dallas now ranks as one of the best for celebrations (No. 3, up from No. 18 last year). Although affordability has fallen a tad (No. 18, down from No. 11 last year), the city ranks in the top 50 percent for attractions and activities, as well as weather. Clearly, these surveyors like heat and humidity.

Also showing improvement since last year, San Antonio comes in at No. 40, and Houston, at No. 29.

Other Texas cities have also improved in the rankings .Fort Worth lands at No. 42, up from No. 81 last year. Arlington is No. 62 (No. 75 last year), Corpus Christi at No. 64, and Irving closely follows at No. 67 (No. 80 last year). Plano fell a bit, from No. 52 last year to No. 58 in 2018. Lubbock came in at No. 75, El Paso at No. 82, and poor Garland just barely makes the list, coming in at No. 96.

Typically on the 4th of July, Americans spend about $6.9 billion on food and more than $825 million on fireworks. A staggering 150 million hot dogs are devoured on the holiday, and 46.9 million people travel more than 50 miles from home to celebrate, WalletHub says.

If you want to celebrate in the best city in the U.S. of A., New York is the place to go, the survey says, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Seattle. But steer clear of San Bernardino, California, which comes in last at No. 100.

And if you're still without plans, check out our official list of eight best 4th of July events in Austin.

holidays wallethub lists

population explosion

Austin neighbor saw 4th biggest population boom in U.S. for 2023

City of Georgetown, Texas Facebook

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This Austin-area suburb has proven it's not just a laid back destination for tourists, but one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. Georgetown experienced the fourth-highest population boom nationwide from 2022 to 2023, according to a new population growth study by SmartAsset.

The newly released report, "These Cities Saw the Largest Growth in Population – 2024 Study," examined U.S. Census population estimates for 2023, 2022, and 2018 to determine one-year and five-year population changes for 610 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 residents in 2023 (where the most recent data was available).

Silver Spring, Maryland had the No. 1 biggest population boom from 2022 to 2023, SmartAsset found. The Washington, D.C. suburb grew 12.86 percent year-over-year, bringing the city's total population from 75,313 to 84,996 residents in 2023.

Georgetown trailed close behind with a 11.34 percent increase in population from 2022 to 2023, which landed it the No. 4 spot in the one-year population change analysis. The city gained 9,812 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 96,317 residents in 2023.

This should come as no surprise to those who already live in Georgetown, who may know their hometown was ranked one of the safest suburbs in America, and one of the best places to retire in the Hill Country. Georgetown was also named the eighth fastest-growing city this year by a separate list with a slightly different scope — so no matter how you slice it, Georgetown is way ahead of the pack.

According to SmartAsset's five-year population comparison, Georgetown had the seventh highest increase in the country, at 29.85 percent. There were only 74,176 residents living in the far-flung Austin suburb town in 2018, showing an increase of 22,141 residents within the five-year period.

The report also examined the changes within Georgetown's working-age population:

Number of working-age residents in 2022 – 37,290
Number of working-age residents in 2023 – 40,074
Percent of population of working age in 2022 – 43.11 percent
Percent of population of working age in 2023 – 41.61 percent
One-year change in the number of working-age residents from 2022 to 2023 – 7.47 percent increase

The report suggested major population shifts in communities like Georgetown can result in "a variety of interwoven economic and social impacts."

"The magnitude of the population change can affect demand for businesses and services, which in turn may impact costs – or even the availability of such amenities," the report's author wrote. "Similarly, the relative age of the population can determine the strength or weakness of the local job market, as well as have an impact on local culture, economic trajectory, tax base and more."

Georgetown's location 30 miles north of downtown Austin, coupled with its close proximity to I-35 and TX-130, makes this city the ideal place for Texans who want to escape the big city noise for a while and maintain a closer distance to outlying Hill Country towns.

Fast-growing cities elsewhere in Texas
Texas cities dominated the top 10 list of cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023.

New Braunfels, a San Antonio suburb, ranked No. 2 nationally with an 12.49 percent one-year population boom, and a 29.68 percent growth rate from 2018 to 2023. The city gained 12,318 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 110,961 residents in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Houston suburbs of Atascocita and Conroe ranked No. 5 and No. 9, respectively. Atascocita's total population grew to 119,502 residents in 2023, which represented a 11.03 percent growth rate from 2022, and a whopping 38.56 percent population increase since 2018. Conroe's 6.73 percent one-year population increase paled in comparison, but the city grew 23.49 percent during the five-year period from 2018 to 2023.

Just outside the top 10 was Round Rock, which had the 14th highest population boom in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023. The North Austin suburb gained more than 6,900 residents within the year, representing a 5.57 percent growth rate.

The top 10 U.S. cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023 are:

No. 1 – Silver Spring, Maryland
No. 2 – New Braunfels, Texas
No. 3 – Glen Burnie, Maryland
No. 4 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Atascocita, Texas
No. 6 – Pine Hills, Florida
No. 7 – Elgin, Illinois
No. 8 – Lehi, Utah
No. 9 – Conroe, Texas
No. 10 – Dale City, Virginia

population growth reports smartasset georgetown

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Austin skyrockets up list of best places to celebrate 4th of July

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