TDC in the News

More than 1,000 people a day became Texans over the past year, U.S. Census Bureau data released on Wednesday shows.

And once again, Texas’ population grew by the largest number of any state in the country, as it has for every year this decade. But beyond those top-line numbers lurk signs that Texas’ dominance as a land of economic opportunity could be waning — if ever so slightly, said state demographer Lloyd Potter.

Stunned by a succession of steep rent boosts at her Southeast Side apartment, Gloria Lane decided not to renew her lease and began shopping for a house earlier this year.

Within three months, she and her husband purchased a three-bedroom home on the West Side, where they pay less than $800 a month on a mortgage — well below the $1,400 monthly rent they previously paid for a three-bedroom apartment.

BELTON — While the next regular session of the Legislature is still more than a year away, Bell County’s state representatives already have a priority in mind: Ensuring Bell County and Texas can continue to grow.

On Tuesday, state Reps. Hugh Shine, R-Temple, and Scott Cosper, R-Killeen, discussed their top priorities for the 86th Legislature in 2019 during a lunchtime forum hosted by the Chambers of Commerce of Bell County.

Education is key to the future of Texas, Shine said.

iFresh, an Asian American grocery supermarket chain and online grocer, is opening its first Texas location in Houston in the summer of 2018, the company said in a statement. The new market is under construction and will be located in what is known locally as “new Chinatown.”

The Houston location will be the 10th retail supermarket for iFresh. The company offers fresh and culturally unique produce, seafood and other CPGs of interest to Asian-American consumers that are not typically found in mainstream supermarkets.

HOOKS, Texas—Riverbend Water Resources District's Board of Directors approved the final numbers for the Regional Water Master Plan during a town hall meeting Tuesday. The population and water demand data was gathered by consultant Susan Roth, who also made a presentation on the numbers and the infrastructure needed to support anticipated growth.

Roth said the Texas Water Development Board included census data for projections included in the 2017 State Water Plan. Those numbers differ from the numbers she obtained from the Texas Demographic Center, which show a .21 population increase in Bowie County by 2050, as opposed to .17 percent projected by the water development board.

"You have to have very justifiable data," she said of the Regional Water Master Plan. "It's a very small growth, but it's growth. I'm trying to show that it is an increase."

Growing older is not optional, but getting and staying in good physical shape certainly is a matter of choice.

Research indicates that seniors who exercise or simply start to move around more later in life tend to live longer and stay healthier than their couch potato peers, Staff Writer Richard A. Marini reports, citing a 2009 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Amazon wants a talent magnet for its second headquarters, a place where tech workers, professionals and executives would move for the right job. By that metric, no region has a stronger case than Dallas-Fort Worth.

We’re not talking about the best-of rankings for business or vacations or retirement. Or the “cool factor” that makes Denver and Austin so trendy (and so appealing to Dallas residents, too). We’re talking about people voting with their feet, choosing to relocate from another state.

A tour of Terracon’s new offices in Tyler is an exercise in imagination and faith.

Clayton Carroll, an engineer with the firm, points out where labs, testing facilities and offices will go.

“We’ve only been in this building for about two months,” he said. “It’s all still a work in progress, but we’re planning an open house for October. We’ll be ready for it.”

One of Texas’ best business legends helps explain what has become a national economic powerhouse — the “Texas triangle.”

The story starts in 1967 when, supposedly, entrepreneur Rollin King and lawyer Herb Kelleher dined in downtown San Antonio at a St. Anthony Hotel bar. King drew a triangle on a cocktail napkin, labeling the corner points San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. He proposed what would become Southwest Airlines.

Financial woes weigh on Tricia Fayadh’s shoulders these days like never before. She’s struggling to catch up on her mortgage payments and other bills. She’s searching for a full-time job to no avail.

“I have never been out of work for more than a month,” she said. “I’ve worked all my life since I was 15.”

Dallas-Fort Worth residents made more money in 2016 than the year before, while the region’s poverty rate declined, new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

The D-FW metro area’s median household income jumped by 2.7 percent in 2016, from $62,135 in 2015 to $63,812, according to the Census’ American Community Survey. The percentage of people in poverty dipped from 13.4 percent to 12.7 percent.

HOUSTON

As Harvey's floodwater rose quickly above cabinets, counters and toward the ceiling, Viet Dao scrambled to figure out how he would save his young children, wife and in-laws if the water wouldn't stop. What if he couldn't rescue them all?

"It hits you right there: We have nowhere to escape," Dao, 48, said by phone Wednesday. "If it was just me, it's OK, I can survive. But I just don't know how can I help my children and family get out. It's really frustrating."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article172197162.html#storylink=cpy

Wendy Rivera sat in a metal folding chair outside the shelter for Hurricane Harvey evacuees in Southeast Austin. She shared a 44-ounce convenience store soda with her husband, Ramiro. Ramiro, tall, soft-spoken and tattooed, used his body and a white towel to shade the two from the demanding sun.

“We’re pretty wiped out,” said Wendy. The Rivera’s trailer home in Aransas Pass was gone thanks to Harvey. “There’s not much to salvage.” The Southeast Austin warehouse was their second shelter.

It's been almost two weeks since Hurricane Harvey began its assault on southeastern Texas, and communities throughout the region have set off down the long, hard road to recovery. FEMA administrator Brock Long and Texas governor Greg Abbott both said last week that it will take years to rebuild homes, salvage businesses, shore up infrastructure, and rehouse droves of displaced residents. Their inauspicious projections have left many Texans wondering what a multiyear recovery effort could entail for them and their communities.

So WIRED spoke with experts about what that recovery could look like in practice.

Newswise — DALLAS – Aug. 30, 2017 – Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern Medical Center joined today with Frisco city leaders to kick off a construction project that will bring an acute care hospital and multispecialty clinic complex to this rapidly growing part of Collin County. The $270 million project launches this summer, and clinical services on the campus will commence by the end of 2019.

“Texas Health and UT Southwestern will bring a unique health care campus to the people of Frisco and surrounding areas,” said Barclay Berdan, FACHE, CEO of Texas Health Resources. “Many attributes make this campus unlike any other, including the depth of medical expertise, elements that promote health, restoration and well-being as well as every detail designed with the consumer and patient in mind. Walking trails and comforting design features and other environmentally conscious elements combine with high-end technology and specially designed treatment areas to create the best possible experience for patients, families, guests, and neighbors. It’s a perfect fit for Frisco.”

For older residents seeking affordable senior housing in Cedar Park or Leander, potential options often include specialized health care options or long waitlists.

One of those options is Leander Station Senior Village, which offers senior apartments for residents age 55 and older at its location on Hero Way West. Renee Johns, the assistant manager of the property, said there are more than 500 people on the waitlist for an apartment.

n a room of bankers and business people, U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington asked how many people felt national debt is a top concern for our country. Dozens raised their hands.

Debt was one of many topics touched on during the Dialogue with the Dallas Fed event on Thursday, featuring Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President and CEO Robert Kaplan. Jeff Mercer, senior associate dean for the Texas Tech School of Finance, moderated the discussion, followed by audience questions. The event was hosted by the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center.

Arrington’s opening remarks highlighted the West Texas economy. Arrington talked about the impact the energy industry has, and also mentioned Dyess Air Force Base, an often forgotten area economic driver near Abilene. Agriculture was also a focus of his introductory speech.

According to a 2015 study by the U.S. Census Bureau, 65,546 Californians moved to Texas, which is nearly double the number of residents relocating from Florida, the second-highest contributing state on the list.

Because many Californians are moving out of state for new jobs, which are likely high-paying and require an identified skill, state demographer Lloyd Potter said many of these out-of-state homebuyers can also be expected to be highly educated.

AMARILLO - As the Hispanic population in Texas continues to boom, local counties continue to lead the way.

According to the latest census numbers, Randall County had the highest growth percentage among Hispanics than any other county in Texas.

By now, the demise of the American small town is a common tale. But even as most of them continue to lose residents, a few are adding them at a rapid clip.

In several Western and Southern states, small towns are growing quickly as fast-growing metro areas swallow up more outlying towns, according to a Statelineanalysis of census estimates.

With the aging and retirement of baby boomers, the U.S. as a nation is growing older, the U.S. Census Bureau said this last month. Locally, despite its reputation as a retirement community, Grayson County is comfortably in its late 30s and not aging, the report found.

The bureau reported that the country’s median age — the point where half the population is younger and the other half older — rose from 37.2 years in 2010 to about 37.9 in July 2016. The survey included data collected in official censuses in 2000, 2010 and estimates for 2016.

This summer, Alex Nieman has been spending a lot of time bowling with friends and perfecting his moves during his modern dance class.

But his parents don’t need to worry about long drives or carpool arrangements to get him to a bowling alley and a dance studio several times a week. He’s able to do both at Children’s Learning Adventure — the big-box store of summer camps.

Clay Hadick, 68, and his wife, Dianna, were ready to leave New Jersey when he retired from the pharmaceutical industry in 2012.

They moved to Texas, settling in Bexar County — specifically, in Alamo Ranch, in a gated community for people age 55 and older.

Texas, like everywhere else, is getting older as baby boomers age. But it's still one of the youngest states in the nation, new census data shows.

For years, Central Texas has seen ripples of population growth with Austin at the center.

“Without question, you essentially see this concentric movement outward from the urban core,” State Demographer Lloyd Potter said last month at the Texas Demographic Conference.

The Dallas-based Stainback Organization has prepared a site plan for a development it proposes at Interstate 35 and West Loop 340 that includes more than 30 retail sites, restaurants, office space, a fitness center and a movie theater spread across 200 acres.

Stainback announced earlier this year it would buy 200 of the 350 acres across I-35 from Central Texas Marketplace that real estate agent Bland Cromwell is marketing for an investment group. Stainback chairman and CEO Kent Stainback, a Baylor University graduate, said he envisions a center that includes high-end retail, entertainment and dining.

Ask Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter what caught his attention in a recent release of census data for Texas cities, and he’ll tell you: Houston, in Harris County.

“In the past three or four years, prior to the [2015-16] set of estimates, Harris County was the most significant growing county in the country numerically,” he says.

The news was the talk of downtown Conroe.

The county seat for bustling Montgomery County is the fastest-growing city in the country among cities with more than 50,000 residents, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Once again, Texas’ sprawling suburbs dominate the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of the 15 fastest-growing large cities in the country.

Between 2015 and 2016, Conroe — a Montgomery County suburb just past The Woodlands on Interstate 45 north of Houston — grew 7.8 percent, more than any city with more than 50,000 residents, data released this week shows.

A series of prominent developments in Plano is expected to bring tens of thousands of jobs to the city in the coming years—but it will be harder to fill some of those job openings than others.

From the executives and staff in brand-new, sparkling corporate offices, to the cooks and servers in restaurants at the Legacy West development, the demand for labor in Plano is diverse and growing. But local business leaders have said the Plano restaurants, retail stores and hospitality employers that have struggled for years to retain their workers could be in for a harder time in the coming months.

San Antonio ranked third among the 15 U.S. cities that recorded the largest numeric increases in population last year, according to new estimates released late Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alamo City gained 24,473 residents between July 2015 and July 2016, bringing its total population to 1,492,510, based on the latest census data.

The U.S. Census is out with new numbers on which cities grew the most and which cities grew the fastest last year. Texas leads the pack in both categories.

“What you’re seeing is just phenomenal growth,” says Steve Murdock, former head of the Census Bureau and current director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University.

Lloyd Potter is a numbers guy whose role as Texas state demographer keeps him ever-mindful of the state's population boom, especially along what's called the Texas Triangle, a sector linking the metro areas of three of the nation's 10 largest cities (Dallas, Houston and San Antonio) with a top-10 wannabe (Austin) at No. 11.

Texas already is the country's second largest state in both geographic size and human numbers. Yet its rising population, along with newly minted Texans from other states, is positioning the Lone Star State to gain more electoral votes and House seats after the 2020 Census. Four of its metro areas are among the country's largest in population and many of its counties are among the fastest-growing. With 38 electoral votes and 36 members in the U.S. House today, Texas is poised for greater national influence in the future -- and may well find renewed cause for that Texas swagger.

Situated on the crest of a small hill, surrounded by miles and miles of sunbaked prairie, Higgins (population: 429) is a bleak little place. Downtown consists almost entirely of vacant storefronts, surrounded by a neighborhood of one-story homes and sagging trailers, many of them in need of a coat of paint. Unleashed dogs trot up and down unpaved streets, and tumbleweeds drift past playground equipment at the city park. “Whenever we get a hard wind, we always joke that this could be the day that Higgins finally blows away,” Kay Boughan, the 58-year-old owner of the Donut Shop Cafe, on Main Street, told me in late February. She puffed on her cigarette as she popped a tray of biscuits into the oven. “Maybe you’ve noticed, but there ain’t all that much left to blow away.”

(April 27, 2017) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Policy Studies Center will bring together Latino leaders, community advocates and researchers from around Texas for the inaugural Latino Policy Symposium on May 4 and 5 at the UTSA Downtown Campus.

Latino Policy Symposium participants are encouraged to develop short-term and long-term policy platforms that can be put into action across Texas. The goal of the symposium is to help inform and guide state and local policymakers on strategies that increase Latino education attainment, employment rates, homeownership, child development opportunities, health and wellness, and voter engagement.

Austin is among a handful of U.S. cities that could see a rush of newcomers in the next century as rising sea levels force people out of coastal areas, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change.

“We’re talking about the conversion of essentially habitable land into uninhabitable water. It really begs the question: Where are these people likely to go?” says Matt Hauer, a demographer at the University of Georgia who authored the study. “This paper tries to answer that question.”

The Woodlands has become a hub for international companies over the last decade, drawing foreign residents to the community for jobs and new opportunities as a result of years of recruiting and marketing efforts across the world by various business organizations.

“I think this is something the forefathers of The Woodlands wanted and tried to differentiate themselves back then from say, Houston,” said Pete Garcia, executive director of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce The Woodlands-Gulf Coast Chapter. “They sought out to get international companies looking for a place to do business and park their U.S. headquarters. I think The Woodlands has done a very good job of extending their arms and saying, ‘You’re welcome to come here and live, shop, do business and hopefully invest.’”

Tyler is changing, the official Texas state demographer said Thursday, and it’s happening at an increasing rate.

Tyler is one of only two areas in Texas in which the average age is decreasing. At the same time, the population is booming due to younger families moving in for economic opportunities. The result, demographer Lloyd Potter told the Tyler Economic Development Council’s annual luncheon, will be a “population rectangle” in Texas by 2050.

TYLER, TX (KLTV) -

The City of Tyler, as well as Smith County, are growing. With numbers presented Thursday in the Tyler Economic Development Council's annual meeting, a growing population in East Texas could change the economic corridors in the State of Texas.

According to the TEDC, Smith County's population increased by 7.6 percent since 2010.

AUSTIN – When people consider a cross-country move, there are a number of factors that go into relocation plans, including work, retirement and family.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 46 million Americans pulled up stakes in 2015, with about 7.5 million of those moves to a different state.

It's a trend that has continued, particularly in Collin County, according to Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter, who also directs the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at University of Texas at San Antonio. "We've seen dramatic growth in the Asian community there," he says. With that comes a multiplication of the businesses that serve that community. "That includes, of course, restaurants, where people who are running the businesses are comfortable in the language of that country, and people who are foreign born are comfortable coming in."

Three northern neighbors of Bexar County continue to draw new residents at a pace that ranks them in the nation’s 10 fastest growing larger counties, according to U.S. Census estimates released Thursday.

Kendall, Comal and Hays counties have made the top 10 list in recent years with fair regularity, so it didn’t surprise officials there who deal with the resulting traffic congestion, new rooftops and increased demand for public facilities and services.

After eight straight years of boom - adding more new residents than any county in the nation - Harris County in 2016 felt some of the oil bust's sting.

The county gained a total of about 56,600 people last year, a decline of 37 percent from the previous year, placing it behind Arizona's Maricopa County, which added nearly 81,400 new residents.

The decline was largely attributable to the fact that for the first time in years more people - about 16,000 - left Harris County than moved here from elsewhere in the country, according to Census data released Thursday.

Despite the losses, Harris County held on to its No. 2 position in the nation in overall growth thanks to the number of people moving here from abroad and the number of births.

After having the nation's largest annual gain in residents for eight years, Harris County in 2016 was unseated by Arizona’s Maricopa County and lost thousands of residents to other parts of the country, new census figures show.

And though it still experienced overall growth because of expanding families and international immigration, Harris County’s loss of residents to other areas depicts an ongoing reality in Texas where the suburbs continue to lead in population growth largely because of domestic migration.

It’s no surprise that the Texas population continue to grow. The state’s major cities are all getting bigger, but it’s the areas surrounding the urban core – the suburbs – where growth rates are highest.

State Demographer Dr. Lloyd Potter says suburban growth in Texas is significantly higher than it is in other parts of the country, and that this population increase comes at the expense of urban areas in the state.

They got tired of California dreamin'.

Skyrocketing home prices and fierce competition for jobs in the Golden State are prodding poor families to pack up and head to Texas. Our state was the top destination for low-income residents leaving California between 2005 and 2015, according to a recent data analysis by the Sacramento Bee.

In that time period, about 293,000 impoverished people left California for Texas and nearly half that figure moved into California from our state, for a net loss of 156,000 people, the Bee reported.

The story of North Texas has long been one of rapid population growth, but a recent report from a state agency has proven that is not the only story.

According to the Texas Demographic Center, Dallas County ranks last among the state's 254 counties in three categories that measure people moving into or out of an area: net internal migration, total net migration and total net migration and immigration.

Source: Dallas County Ranks Last in Texas in Key Growth Area | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-County-Ranks-Last-in-Texas-in-One-Key-Growth-Area-412998523.html#ixzz4Y6lh4sSK

Follow us: @nbcdfw on Twitter | NBCDFW on Facebook

Texas and the rest of the country are confronting the many challenges of our changing health care system — changes accelerated by last November’s election.

The elderly population in Texas is growing. While our overall population continues to grow by leaps and bounds, it is also aging significantly. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 and Texas State Data Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio, the number of people in Texas age 60 and above is expected to more than triple between 2010 and 2050. Because seniors require the most care, that translates into increased costs to the overall system.

Texans have a lot to smile about, according to a new poll.

A recent Gallup poll named Texas as one of the top 10 happiest states. Hawaii and Alaska topped the list, with the Lone Star State coming in at No. 10. It was the sixth time the Aloha State was at No. 1.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article131155164.html#storylink=cpy

The 2020 census may be three years away, but local government officials are already preparing for the gigantic task ahead. On Tuesday, a workshop was held to find out what the city needs to do to get ready.

"If we can get our elected officials, our city manager, our economic developers involved in the census participation, they can make sure everyone is accounted for," said Gloria Vasquez, the director of regional services for the Alamo Area Council of Governments

SAN ANGELO, TX - The real estate market for San Angelo looks to be promising for 2017 based on recent information provided by the San Angelo Association of Realtors and the A&M Real Estate Center.

The following numbers represent home sales for Tom Green County compared to information released on the Midland County Permian Basin real estate market.

For the first time, the decennial census — a massive undertaking that surveys the demographics of each household in the United States — is moving online.

Most people answering questions for the 2020 Census will do so by visiting a census-designated website. Americans also will be able to submit their answers by phone, another new option designed to make the census more convenient and efficient.

Lori Kassinger was living in Austin when she began working two days a week in San Antonio last spring. She enjoyed the smoother traffic and the affordability she found here in the Alamo City.

“I had been frustrated with Austin for some time because I found that I was living inside a little bubble on my days off — because I didn’t want to get caught in the traffic that I was having to deal with on my weekdays going to work,” Kassinger recalled.

The Texas Demographic Center projects Hidalgo County will have about 948,000 residents by 2020 — falling slightly short of the million mark.

Whether or not Hidalgo County will have 1 million residents by 2020 depends on the most difficult part of projecting population changes: migration.

If the net migration Hidalgo County experienced from 2000 to 2010 remains unchanged through 2020, the county will reach 1 million. If net migration slows, though, Hidalgo County will fall short.