Profile: Demographic Trends

The Rural Capital Area (RCA) is a nine-county region with a population of 1,271,942 in central Texas surrounding Austin, the state capital. The RCA has grown more rapidly than the U.S. for the past decade, growing 45% versus 6% for the US. The regional population growth rate was at its lowest level in 2013 at 2.8%, still over three times the U.S. rate of growth.

The RCA's population growth has historically been driven by migration of people from across the U.S.: in the last decade, 82% of new population was due to domestic migration. Migration has increased in recent years and outpaces births by more than 2-to-1: in 2023, 36,000 people moved to the Rural Capital Area from other parts of the U.S. and 14,000 births occurred.

Figure 1: Population Change Components, 2013-2023

Williamson County is the most populous county in the Rural Capital Area with 54% of residents, followed by Hays County (22%), Bastrop County (9%), Burnet County (4%), and Caldwell County (4%). Population has grown in all regional counties over the past decade but was highest in Hays County (59% growth from 2013-2023), Williamson County (48% growth), and Bastrop County (46% growth).

Figure 2: Population Growth by County, 2013-2023

The Rural Capital Area population is spread fairly evenly across age groups and has seen significant growth in the past decade in the youth, retiree, and near-retiree populations. In 2023, 19% of the RCA's population were children under 15 years of age, 20% were youth aged 15 to 29, 23% were aged 30 to 44, and 18% were 45-59. Over the past decade, the 75-79 year-old cohort was the fastest growing in the region, increasing 105% while the children and youth populations grew about one-third as fast. The slowest relative regional growth was in those aged 10-14 (28% growth).

Figure 3: Age Distribution, 2013-2023