Louis Whitehead

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Fast-growing counties? Look at Central Texas

New census estimates rank local counties among the top.

By Suzannah Gonzales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 20, 2008

Central Texas counties remain among the fastest-growing counties nationwide, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.

Williamson County ranked 11th, Hays 13th and Travis 99th in the Census Bureau's ranking of the 100 fastest-growing counties with 10,000 or more residents in 2007 in the nation.

"We expect to always see suburban counties among the fastest-growing in percentage terms," said Karl Eschbach, director of the Texas State Data Center. But in terms of numerical gain, Travis ranked higher. With a population of more than 974,000 last year, which was an increase of nearly 33,000 since 2006, Travis County took the No. 9 spot.

Breaking through the million mark by early 2009 will be a big deal for Travis County, said city demographer Ryan Robinson, where Austin over the decade has made up about half of its growth