Tagged: population

Having trouble finding a place to rent? You’re definitely not alone.

A steady stream of people moving to Central Texas has made finding an apartment more difficult. U.S. Census Bureau data released in June ranked Round Rock second and Austin third on a list of the fastest-growing large cities in the country.

Capitol Market Research, which studies the area’s rental market, says there are barely enough apartment units in the Austin-area to keep up with demand. It says the average rent on a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment is now about $1,100 a month.

Hays County is growing so fast that it has to add more voting locations for the November election. “Because the 2010 Census showed a large increase in populations (about 60,000 people more) we are required by state law to have our main early voting site plus one site in each of our Commissioner Precincts,” Hays County Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan said in a statement. 

The voting sites also have to remain open for the entire two weeks of early voting, in addition to Election Day.

In the last presidential election, Hays County had only one main voting site.

Texas Dominates Population Growth

Round Rock is ranked second and Austin is ranked third on a list of the country’s fastest-growing large cities.

New estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau show Round Rock’s population increased by 4.8 percent from April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011.

An analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census shows the population was slightly overcounted, by about 0.01 percent or 36,000 people.

That means the latest census was more accurate than the 2000 Census, which had an overcount of about 0.49 percent. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves says the 2010 Census was "outstanding." But the analysis found that accuracy varied by demographics.

The 2010 Census overcounted whites by .08 percent, undercounted 2.1 percent of the African-American population, and undercounted 1.5 percent of the Hispanic population. 

The news comes as no surprise to locals: the Austin area is still growing — and fast.

New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show the population of the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area was the second fastest-growing metro area in the country between April 2010 and July 2011.

In just that 15-month period, the population went up by 3.9 percent—that’s a gain of more than 67,000 people and put the total population at close to 1.8 million.

Support for Santorum Spreading in Texas

Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum has a substantial lead in Texas, according to a recent poll by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune.