We're Number 10!
Austin has become America's 10th largest city.
Austin is now the nation's 10th largest city, per data released by the Census Bureau.
Frankly we're kind of limping into 10th place. Population growth within the city limits has slowed considerably in recent years.
In the pandemic years, 2020-22, annual growth dipped to 1.3%, according to city demographer Lila Valencia:
Per the latest @uscensusbureau #populationestimates, Austin, TX is the 10th largest city in the nation. Austin moved into the top 10 with an estimated population of 974,447, expanding by 12,547 residents since the 2020 Census and growing at a rate of 1.3%.
— Lila Valencia (@LVinATX) May 18, 2023
Now, keep in mind, population growth slowed globally and, to an even greater extent, nationally, during the pandemic. Why? Well, as much as some would like to deny it, a lot more people died than usual. The nation's life expectancy dipped two years in a row, dropping by an astonishing 2.7 years.
However, the Austin metro area grew much faster. The year between 2021-22 was the 12th consecutive in which the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area was the fastest-growing large metro area in the country, growing at a rate of 2.7%.
Why do you think that is?