Austin, Texas, keeps tearing along as the fastest growing big city in the country. According to census figures released today, its population shot up 2.9 percent during the 12 months that end in July of 2014. Among the 50 largest American cities (and to be clear, these figures are for cities proper, not their wider metro areas), the next closest on the list was Denver, which managed 2.4 percent growth. Which is to say, no other major city even came close to Austin's pace of expansion, much as has been the case ever since the recession ended.
Americans still love the sun
Overall, the vast majority of U.S. population growth is concentrated in the South and West. Likewise, the cities topping this list are mostly scattered through states like Texas, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Colorado (And did I say Texas? Let me say it one more time: Texas.). There are some prominent Eastern and Midwestern exceptions in Minneapolis; Washington, D.C.; and Columbus, Ohio. But the Sun Belt's lure of cheap housing and warm weather isn't losing its appeal to Americans. That said, Pacific boomtowns like Seattle and San Francisco are benefiting more from hot job markets, which have outweighed their miserably expensive real estate prices.
America's fastest growing city is really a fast growing suburb
Austin is a delightful town with a growing number of high-rises and walkable neighborhoods packed with trendy restaurants and bars. But it's nearly impossible to survive there without a car, an enormous amount of the housing stock is made up of single-family homes, and it's not actually all that noticeable when you leave its city limits. Like many of the places topping the growth charts, much of it just feels like a large collection of 'burbs. Today on FiveThirtyEight, Trulia economist Jed Kolko points out that based on neighborhood density, Austin could be considered more than half suburban, as would other high-growth locales like Phoenix; Fort Worth, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Houston. So while cities are growing as political units (which is wonderful for their tax bases), that doesn't necessarily mean Americans living in them are opting for what most of us would consider urban lifestyles.
Only a few big cities are outpacing their wider regions
Given how indistinguishable some major cities are from the suburbs that ring them, I got to wondering: How many are actually growing faster than their wider metro area? Not many, it turns out. Among the top 50 cities, only 14 had grown faster than the state as a whole and grown at least 0.2 percentage points faster than their wider metro area (sadly, the census didn't includes a margin of error on its growth estimates, so I wanted to leave a little room). Of that group, the star destinations were Portland, Oregon, and Miami, which are just about as far apart, geographically and spiritually/culturally/psychologically, as two cities could be.
Overall, the vast majority of U.S. population growth is concentrated in the South and West. Likewise, the cities topping this list are mostly scattered through states like Texas, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Colorado (And did I say Texas? Let me say it one more time: Texas.). There are some prominent Eastern and Midwestern exceptions in Minneapolis; Washington, D.C.; and Columbus, Ohio. But the Sun Belt's lure of cheap housing and warm weather isn't losing its appeal to Americans. That said, Pacific boomtowns like Seattle and San Francisco are benefiting more from hot job markets, which have outweighed their miserably expensive real estate prices.
America's fastest growing city is really a fast growing suburb
Austin is a delightful town with a growing number of high-rises and walkable neighborhoods packed with trendy restaurants and bars. But it's nearly impossible to survive there without a car, an enormous amount of the housing stock is made up of single-family homes, and it's not actually all that noticeable when you leave its city limits. Like many of the places topping the growth charts, much of it just feels like a large collection of 'burbs. Today on FiveThirtyEight, Trulia economist Jed Kolko points out that based on neighborhood density, Austin could be considered more than half suburban, as would other high-growth locales like Phoenix; Fort Worth, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Houston. So while cities are growing as political units (which is wonderful for their tax bases), that doesn't necessarily mean Americans living in them are opting for what most of us would consider urban lifestyles.
Only a few big cities are outpacing their wider regions
Given how indistinguishable some major cities are from the suburbs that ring them, I got to wondering: How many are actually growing faster than their wider metro area? Not many, it turns out. Among the top 50 cities, only 14 had grown faster than the state as a whole and grown at least 0.2 percentage points faster than their wider metro area (sadly, the census didn't includes a margin of error on its growth estimates, so I wanted to leave a little room). Of that group, the star destinations were Portland, Oregon, and Miami, which are just about as far apart, geographically and spiritually/culturally/psychologically, as two cities could be.
<header class="article-header" id="article_header" style="margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(40, 27, 33); font-family: sl-Apres; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">[h=1]All Hail Austin, Texas, the Boomingest Big City of All[/h]
[h=2][/h]By Jordan Weissmann
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<figcaption class="caption" style="color: white; font-size: 14px; padding: 5px 18px; background-color: rgb(40, 27, 33);">Austin, Texas, apparently has no limits.</figcaption>
Stories about America's urban renaissance have become something of a cliché by now. But there's a reason for that—they're true! Big cities are growing faster than the country as a whole, which is basically for the best (dense urban areas tend to be more efficient and economically productive, after all). And today, the Census Bureau shared its estimates of which locales have expanded quickest in these post-recession years. Among the 25 largest cities in the country, top prize goes to Austin, Texas, which experienced a 12 percent population surge between 2010 and 2013.
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[h=2][/h]By Jordan Weissmann
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Stories about America's urban renaissance have become something of a cliché by now. But there's a reason for that—they're true! Big cities are growing faster than the country as a whole, which is basically for the best (dense urban areas tend to be more efficient and economically productive, after all). And today, the Census Bureau shared its estimates of which locales have expanded quickest in these post-recession years. Among the 25 largest cities in the country, top prize goes to Austin, Texas, which experienced a 12 percent population surge between 2010 and 2013.
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According to CoreLogic, home prices are 39% ABOVE what is sustainable. It surpassed San Francisco as the worst city in US based on affordability index. The laws on financial gravity will have to catch up at some point, as home prices have completely decoupled from incomes, ala 2006. Either incomes need to rise, or home prices need to fall, bottom line. We all know that it is more likely that the latter will happen with median wages remaining stagnant. Seven major US cities now have housing markets that are overvalued according to CoreLogic, 4 of them are in Texas.
Real estate is pricey, but nothing compared to California and some other places. As far as the quotes from CoreLogic on affordability index - that is extremely misleading. They have to be referring to buying real estate in the downtown area, which is where hardly anyone lives. Everyone is in the suburbs, where it's very affordable.
There's a reason why the county I live in is the fastest growing county in the US, and it's not because things aren't affordable.
DN, I saw that story on MSN. Wow! 39%. The story did say that the market there is sustainable. I live in the DC area and DC made the list of overpriced homes as well....but the market here is sustainable due to the excellent job market. I bought my shitty little house 4+ years ago for $415K and it's worth around $500K now. In Florida (where I'm from) this house would be around $125K (in Jacksonville or Orlando or Tampa)...maybe a little more in the Miami area. It's unbelievable.
I looked at Zillow and found a few decent houses in the Austin and San Antonio areas that were very nice in the $250K range. Not sure about the neighborhood, but if those houses were in my area of Arlington, VA they'd be over $1 million.
Austin is a great city. If you could land a solid job there, would be a great place to live.
Was out in Houston about 10 years ago....Love the people.
