2016 Population Estimates

The Texas Demographic Center produces annual estimates of the total population of counties and places in the state. Estimates of county populations by age, sex, and race/ethnicity are also available. The TDC annual estimates aid state and local governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders to gauge the growth and demographic composition of the state, counties, and places. [Download Estimates]

URBAN TEXAS: Metropolitan Immigration in Texas

Immigration is an important source of growth in the urban areas of Texas. MSAs in Texas contain about 89 percent of the state’s population but receive around 97 percent of all recent Texas immigrants. These immigrants represent an increasing variety of countries and Asian immigration is now outpacing Mexican immigration in the state’s major MSAs. [More Details]

URBAN TEXAS: Recent Metropolitan Migration Patterns

Migration from outside of Texas is a key factor in the state’s recent population growth. This is especially true in metropolitan areas. The state’s 25 metro areas had a net gain of 5,943 residents from internal migration within Texas and this is substantially smaller than the 276,948 gained from net domestic migration and immigration. [More Details]

URBAN TEXAS: Components of Change

Recent population growth in Texas has been robust due to a combination of natural increase and net migration. However, what is true at the state level is not always true at the local level. Differences in the components of population change selectively favor urban growth over rural growth. We find that migration is transforming the state’s largest metropolitan areas into urban growth hubs while many rural areas are experiencing flat or negative population growth. [More Details]

In contemporary Texas, the vast majority of population growth occurs in metropolitan areas. With every decennial census since 1850, the state’s population share in what are today’s metropolitan counties has increased while the population share of the non-metropolitan counties has declined. By 2010, 84.7 percent of Texans lived in urban areas. At present growth rates, the Texas urban population will double in 40 years. Metropolitan areas in Texas are projected to have more than 90 percent of the state’s 2010-2050 total population growth. [More Details]

Texas Migration

In recent years, Texas has become a favorite destination for domestic and international migrants, adding close to 250,000 people a year through migration. In addition to this external migration, over a million Texans move from one county to another within the state. Together, these migration streams produce a substantial population redistribution within Texas every year. This brief examines how these external and internal migration streams are affecting different areas within the state. [More Details]

Texas Mobility

The stream of people moving to Texas has received much attention in recent years. Migration has added around a quarter million new Texans a year, and this has raised concerns about whether the state can accommodate this kind of growth. However, with one million people moving between Texas counties, far more migration begins and ends within the state. [More Details]

Aging in Texas: Introduction

When it comes to demographic shifts, Texas often leads the pack. However, with population aging trends, Texas seems to be on a unique path. This brief is the first in our Aging in Texas series. In this brief, we explore the seeming contradiction of large and fast growth among the Texas elderly – Texas has the third largest elderly population in the country, and this population grew at a faster rate than the nation’s elderly population – as well as Texas’s ranking among the youngest states in the country. [View Report]