la Frontera In the News

Austin American-Statesman

April 15, 2004

Newcomers from state, nation fuel Williamson County growth

Austinites, other Texans attracted by high-end homes, top-quality school districts

by Laura Heinauer, American-Statesman Staff

The next time you're at the grocery store, stuck in traffic or at a Round Rock Express game, take a look around.

One in five of the 304,000 people who live in the county now weren't here for opening day in 2000. At 21.5 percent, Williamson's growth rate from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 is the second-highest in the tate, behind Rockwall County near Dallas.

Census data attribute 71 percent of the growth to domestic migration, people moving into the county from other parts of the state and country.

Candace Gallagher, a real estate analyst who tracks home sales for Alamo Title, said Round Rock has been the most popular place to buy a home in Williamson County this year, followed by Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander and Hutto. Though there was a slight decline in sales in 2002, about 5,100 homes were sold across the county in 2003.

In tiny Hutto, 50 houses are being sold each month, said County Commissioner Frankie Limmer.

Developers have told Limmer that the majority of new residents are from Austin. Residents from Austin and around the state have been attracted to the high-end homes and estate-size lots still available in the area, he said.

"I think the proximity to Round Rock and the good school system has a lot to do with it," he said. The district is recognized for its scores on scholastic achievement tests.

The number of young couples moving here for the schools also has had an impact on Williamson's rate of natural increase. In the three-year period studied, the Census Bureau estimates, there were more than 15,000 births in Williamson. With only 3,700 deaths recorded during the same period, the county's death rate is among the lowest in the state.

Doctors at Georgetown Hospital have seen a 38 percent increase in the number of births since 1999. In that time, the hospital has undergone numerous projects, including its current emergency room expansion, said hospital spokeswoman Erika Pratt.

"We call him our baby factory," Pratt said of the hospital's obstetrician, Andy Mahaffey. "I see him running up four, sometimes five times a day delivering babies."

Despite the boom mentality, census data show that Williamson's growth has actually begun to slow. Though it grew 10 percent from mid-2000 to 2001, the county saw only a 4.8 percent increase through mid-2002 and a 4.6 percent increase through mid-2003.

Data from the Texas Workforce Commission shows that the five-county Austin metro area lost 35,679 private industry jobs from the end of 2000 to the end of 2002. The good news is that unemployment rates in Williamson County have dropped from more than 5 percent, where they stood for most of 2003, to 3.9 percent in February, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Labor figures for March will be released today.

Loudoun County, Va., where the population has increased 31 percent in the past three years, was the fastest growing county from 2000 to 2003. There hasn't been any slowdown in job creation or in population growth, said Clark Draper, a county demographer.

The area once consisted mostly of Washington commuters, Draper said. Now, he said, more than 50 percent of county residents work in Loudoun. AOL/Time Warner and MCI have headquarters there, as well as several military contractors.

"Homeland defense and military spending is part of that," Draper said. "Not only have we not slowed down; we've accelerated."

County Commissioner David Hays said he thinks Williamson and the Austin area will continue to have job growth.

"Austin's always going to be a good base for us with the university, the state Capitol and the high-tech industry," he said. "We're also becoming a retirement destination for a lot of folks, so we're going to see that growth continue there as well."