09.29.2023

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🏗️ Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

How Austin’s rapid growth is changing city demographics

The Sixth and Guadalupe building being constructed downtown, with cranes in the foreground.

Sixth and Guadalupe is expected to open this year. | Photo by ATXtoday

Between 2010 and 2020, Austin gained more residents than almost any other city in the US, only falling behind New York City, Houston, and Fort Worth. Talk about big changes.

To better understand what that growth means for our city’s demographics, the City of Austin released a report last week on changes to the population of Austinites in the last decade. Read on for five takeaways.

Austin’s population is getting older

People aged 65+ are the fastest-growing age group in ATX, increasing from 7% of the population to 9.5% between 2010 and 2020. That’s a growth rate of 64.7%.

Two maps of Austin, showing the proportions of older adults in Austin census tracts. — The darker colors on these maps represent high proportions of older adults in Austin census tracts.
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Graphic by ATXtoday, maps via the City of Austin’s Age of Change report

Most growth is happening along city edges

When you’re looking for stark demographic change in ATX, look to East Austin.

Between 2010 and 2020, East Austin neighborhoods grew both whiter and older. In that time frame, the share of Black and Hispanic older adults declined, while the population of older white adults grew significantly.
The number and proportion of children under five years old is smaller now than it was a decade ago. Austin also has a lower percentages of people under 18 — 19.4% — compared to higher rates in Texas (25.8%) and the US (23%).

A graphic showing the changing population by age group across the city between 2010 and 2020. — The City of Austin’s population has grown in almost every age group since 2010.
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Graphic via the City of Austin’s Age of Change report.

But Austin is still a young city

The median age of Austin — 33 years old, up from 31 in 2010 — is still younger than its peer cities. Compare to:

The US: 38.8
Texas: 35.6
Dallas: 33.6
Houston: 34.2
San Antonio: 35.9

The balance of older adults, younger adults, and children can foresee the economic growth potential of a city. Researchers look at a “dependency ratio,” or a measure of the proportion of dependents to the working population. Austin’s dependency ratio is 40.7, which is substantially lower than the US (63.6) and Texas (62.4).

Explore the full report.

Asked

How long have you lived in Austin?

A. Less than one year
B. 1-4 years
C. 5-9 years
D. 10+ years

Let us know

Events

Friday, Sept. 29

The Austin Record Convention | Friday, Sept. 29-Sunday, Oct. 1 | Times vary | Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd., Austin | $5-$30 | Browse the largest sale of recorded music in the US, featuring more than one million records, CDs, cassettes, and memorabilia.
Love In Exile | Friday, Sept. 29 | 7:30 p.m. | Bass Concert Hall, 2350 Robert Dedman Dr., Austin | $19-$68 | Grammy Award-winning Arooj Aftab joins Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily to perform a soundscape inspired by identity and love of music.
Corinne Bailey Rae | Friday, Sept. 29 | 8 p.m. | The Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave., Austin | $40-$55 | The star behind “Put Your Records On” will be joined by Melanie Charles.

Saturday, Sept. 30

SAFE’s Touch-A-Truck | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Q2 Stadium, 10414 Mc Kalla Pl., Austin | $15-$20 | Kiddos have the chance to climb inside and explore fire trucks, ambulances, and bulldozers at this fundraiser for the SAFE Alliance.
Texas Craft Brewers Festival | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 12-6:30 p.m. | Fiesta Gardens, 2100 Jessie Segovia St., Austin | $20-$50 | Celebrate all things craft beer at this event featuring 80+ breweries, 200+ beers, food trucks, and live music.

Sunday, Oct. 1

RBD: “Soy Rebelde” tour | Sunday, Oct. 1 | 8 p.m. | The Moody Center, 2001 Robert Dedman Dr., Austin | $255-$2,100 | Don’t miss RBD’s greatest hits, curated from their 20-year career of producing Mexican Latin pop.

Monday, Oct. 2

First Annual Big Mini Golf Tournament | Monday, Oct. 2 | 7:30-10:30 p.m. | The Dirdie Birdie, 10910 Domain Dr., Ste. 120, Austin | $20 | Sip on Meanwhile Brewing beer and compete at mini golf for the chance to win prizes, including best-dressed team.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Civic

It would take Austin Energy 14 years to catch up on required tree-trimming around power lines, according to a recent city audit. The audit was requested after February’s winter storm downed thousands of branches around the city, resulting in power loss for ~330,000 Austinites. (Austin Monitor)

Travel

Viva Aerobus will debut a new nonstop flight from Austin to Monterrey, Mexico in March. The year-round service will operate four days per week.

Weather

In a few short weeks, Austin is due to see its coolest weather since May, when a cold front brings high temperatures in the 80s starting Thursday, Oct. 5. Expect the breath of cool air to last until mid-October. (KXAN)

Coming Soon

Radio Coffee & Beer will open a new location at 3504 Montopolis Dr. on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The new spot — called Radio/East — will serve fan-favorite coffee, cocktails, beer, and offer bites from three food trucks onsite. (Eater Austin)

Announced

Speaking of expansions, famous year-round Christmas bar Lala’s Little Nugget plans to open a second location in South Austin, at 3008 Davis Lane. Lala’s South Pole will span 2,100-sqft and is expected to open sometime next year. (Austin Business Journal)

Opening

Former Top Chef contender Jo Chan’s French food restaurant Bureau de Poste will open at 4300 Speedway on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Expect to try escargot, confit duck legs, and wines at the restaurant, which will be part of an expanded Tiny Grocer location. (Eater Austin)

Home

Borrow from your home — not the bank. Your home value could go down anytime; borrow now while it’s high. Calculate your payment.*

Festival

🍿 Grab the popcorn

See world premieres, 30+ films, and top writers at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival

See “The Bikeriders,” directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Austin Butler, at this year’s Austin Film Festival. | Film still provided by Austin Film Festival

The lineup for this year’s Austin Film Festival is out, so strap in for multiple world premieres and screenings of lauded new films.

For the 30th anniversary of the long-running event, the festival announced a new Writer’s Writer award. Emmy-winning Cord Jefferson — who worked on “Watchmen,” “Succession,” and “The Good Place” — is the award’s inaugural winner.

Here’s what to expect from the rest of the festival, which runs Thursday, Oct. 26 to Thursday, Nov. 2:

Screenings

Expect 30+ screenings of films, including:

“The Bikeriders” starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer
“Day of the Fight,” starring Michael C. Pitt, Steve Buscemi, and Joe Pesci
“Re:Uniting,” a world premiere
“Problem with People,” a world premiere

Conference

The first four days of the festival are also the Writers Conference, featuring panels, workshops, and networking with appearances from Dan Erickson (“Severance”), Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip”), Damon Lindelof (“Lost”), and more.

Badges and passes start at $80.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
London

From the editor

Even though the weather is still in the 90s, for me, it’s officially hot drink season. I’ll be spending much of fall with a good book, a candle, and a cup of ginger lemon tea.

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