Austin, TX

Cities to watch in 2024: This Texas hub is attracting more homebuyers than Austin and Dallas with its affordability and jobs

Published

12 months ago

January 1, 2024

Cities to watch in 2024: This Texas hub is attracting more homebuyers than Austin and Dallas with its affordability and jobs

Anna Lagos, 38, moved to Texas from California in 2014 with her husband and two children, joining her parents and most of her siblings who had already relocated to the state.

Lagos, a realtor, believed that Texas would offer her family a better chance at realizing the homeownership component of the often expensive American dream.

“The opportunities were much greater for us in Texas than they were in California,” Lagos told Business Insider. “We always wanted to own a home. It was pretty evident that we’d have to work for many years before we’d be able to purchase one in California.”

During the early years after their move, Lagos and her husband lived in San Antonio and Austin. However, in 2021, driven by a desire for greater affordability and to be even closer to her parents, who had already established themselves in New Braunfels, the couple moved to the small city in Central Texas.

The Lagos family.

Courtesy of Anna Lagos

Lagos, who bought a 2,700-square-foot home for $325,000 in New Braunfels, said she fell in love with its “small-town” charm.

“I wouldn’t say that it is a small town anymore, but somehow it still manages to retain the feeling of a small town,” she said, adding it’s one of those places ” you won’t find anywhere else.”

Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of people have moved to the Lone Star state, drawn by its affordable housing, political environment, and abundant job opportunities. According to Census Bureau data, Texas welcomed 670,000 new residents between 2021 and 2022, ranking second to Florida.

While big cities like Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio have traditionally been real estate hotspots, recent Census estimates from 2020 to mid-2022 show that smaller places, such as New Braunfels and Katy, have experienced significant population growth, while their larger counterparts have seen minimal growth — or in some cases, population declines. It’s a trend that may persist as Americans continue to reassess notions of affordability and community.

BI interviewed homebuyers and real estate agents to explore the factors contributing to New Braunfels’ rising popularity. Residents said its rich German heritage, tight-knit community, rapidly expanding business sector, and affordable real estate market have made it an ideal place to raise a family and settle down.

One of the fastest-growing cities in America

New Braunfels has emerged as one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. Census data shows that its population has surged by over 15% since 2020. As of July 2022, the city’s population has reached 104,707.

Its growth is as remarkable as its origin story: Evolving from a humble settlement founded by a German prince to a thriving and rapidly expanding city.

In 1844, Prince Carl of Soms–Braunfels, a German prince and military officer, was appointed the commissioner of the Adelsverein, a group of aristocrats united with the singular aim of creating a “new Germany” on Texan soil.

Although New Germany was never realized, the colony succeeded, and to this day, New Braunfels retains much of its German heritage.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort.

Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

The city, which is home to the famous Schlitterbahn Waterpark, hosts the annual Wurstfest celebration — a 10-day German cultural festival dedicated to sausages and Oktoberfest. Drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees from around the world, it has become an internationally famous event.

The city’s economy and job sector are booming

New Braunfels’ economy is growing rapidly alongside its population. A 2023 report from the New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation shows that the city’s gross regional product — a measure of an area’s economy — reached $2.8 billion in 2021, nearly double the amount from a decade earlier.

The EDC also reports that since 2003 the city has created 16,434 new jobs. In 2022, New Braunfels welcomed a $110 million automotive manufacturing plant by Continental, a tech company serving major car manufacturers like Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota, Porsche, which will create more than 500 new jobs. Additionally, business outsourcing company TaskUs increased its operations in the city, adding 750 new positions.

“When I was growing up here, you worked at the mill, or you worked for local government, and there were ancillary jobs to those, but there weren’t many opportunities for employment,” Mayor Neal Linnartz, told the San Antonio Express News in July. “Nowadays, there are so many opportunities that when kids get out of school, they don’t have to leave New Braunfels to find good employment. We have good jobs here.”

According to the Texas Economic Development Corporation, key industries in New Braunfels encompass financial services, information technology, aerospace, and aviation, as well as military and tourism.

The homes are attractive to homebuyers

According to software data company Payscale, the cost of living in New Braunfels is 15% below the national average. [is this for 2022?]

Easton Smith, the founder of the Emerald Haus Group with Keller Williams, moved from Oxnard, California, to New Braunfels in 2016. He told BI that the area’s affordability is really what’s winning people over.

“What I can speak of, on behalf of our clients and ourselves, is that the affordability here is greater,” he said. “What you’ll find is people want to come here and spend less and have more freedom.”

Regan Bender/Shutterstock

Take Janelle Crossan, a 44-year-old single mother who moved to New Braunfels in 2020 for a fresh start with her son.

Having faced financial challenges as a divorcée in Mesa, California, she sought an affordable place to buy a home and a stable environment for her family. After moving to the city, she purchased her first home for $240,000.

“I paid $1,750 for rent in a crappy little apartment in California,” Crossan told BI’sErin Snodgrass earlier this year. “Now, three years later, my whole payment, including mortgage and property taxes, is $1,800 a month for my three-bedroom house.”

The city is experiencing growing pains

Crossan told BI she’s been amazed by New Braunfels’ growth since moving there in 2020 but believes that the expansion has strained the local infrastructure.

“We have construction everywhere,” she said. “I really can’t complain because I’m one of the people who are helping the area grow bigger, but there’s so much traffic.”

Doney Cowey, a realtor with Keller Williams who moved to New Braunfels 32 years ago, told BI that the city’s growth is pushing some locals out.

“At the time I moved here, the town had a population of 19,000,” Cowey said. “The dynamics have changed now that we have at least 100,000 people in the surrounding area. We get people that are moving here because it’s a small town and we also have people moving away because it’s gotten too big.”

Lagos, who now runs a Facebook group for newcomers moving to New Braunfels said there has been some tension between locals and transplants.

“A lot of people, especially those that grew up here, feel like all the people coming in have ruined the small town that they were used to and have driven up prices,” she said. “A lot of them are priced out of their homes right now, unfortunately.”

Janelle Crossan and her son moved from Costa Mesa, California, to New Braunfels, Texas, in November 2020.

Courtesy of Janelle Crossan

Despite the tension, Crossan remains optimistic about New Braunfels, emphasizing its safe and ideal place to live.

“It still has, I hate to say, but the American dream, in a timeframe when people feel like they can’t afford to buy houses and don’t have the same privileges of older generations,” she said. “This is an affordable, fun, cute, nice place to raise kids. I didn’t think that still existed anymore.”

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Austin, TX

Immigration drives nation’s population growth • Kansas Reflector

Published

5 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Immigration drives nation’s population growth • Kansas Reflector

A recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Texas and Florida continued to dominate state population growth, together adding more than 1 million people from mid-2023 to mid-2024 and making up almost a third of the nation’s population increase. The state numbers include births, deaths, immigrants and residents moving from other states.

Nationally, this year’s population growth was up from the 2.8 million increase in 2023 and the 1.9 million boost in 2022, according to state population estimates released Thursday.

The population jump — the largest single-year increase since 2001 — was buoyed by a 21% increase in net immigration.

Immigration has become a more significant factor in population changes, making up all or almost all the growth for 18 states in every part of the country this year, according to an analysis of the data by William Frey, a demographer for the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank.

“This points up the importance of immigration, not just to a couple of big states but to a broad swath of our country,” Frey said. “It’s going to be very welcome in a lot of places that would not be gaining many people or [would be] losing people because of lower fertility and higher deaths.”

Immigration grew in every state, ranging from an increase of about 69,000 people in Florida and California and 57,000 in Texas, down to a few hundred in Montana and Wyoming. The growth in the immigrant population ranged from 19% in Alaska to 36% in Montana.

California and Illinois were among states that had lost residents earlier in the decade, and their growth over the past year could help both stem expected losses in congressional representation after the next nationwide census in 2030.

If the growth continues, it would trim California’s loss to three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives instead of four, and Illinois could lose one seat instead of two, said Kimball Brace, a Virginia-based redistricting expert.

Florida, where growth has slowed slightly, could gain one fewer congressional seat than predicted — three instead of four, he said.

“Clearly immigration is coming into play — a couple years ago you had people talking about California going off the deep end [with population loss] and now it doesn’t look so deep,” said Brace, president of political consulting firm Election Data Services Inc.

California ranked third in the number of new residents from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, according to census estimates, with a gain of about 233,000, thanks to both immigration and people moving in from other states. The Golden State was followed by North Carolina (165,000) and New York (130,000). Illinois grew by about 68,000 and Louisiana by about 9,700.

Florida and Texas also were the leaders in percentage change, growing about 2% in that year, followed by Utah (1.8%), South Carolina and Nevada (both up 1.7%), and Idaho and North Carolina (both up 1.5%).

Only three states had population losses for the year, of a few hundred people each: West Virginia, Vermont and Mississippi.

In Texas, the cities of Houston, Austin and Dallas added the most new housing last year — almost 40,000 new units among them — and are likely to be the centers of new population growth, according to a state report in November. Collin County, a Dallas suburb, is also one of the state’s fastest growing areas, with more than 16,000 new housing units added last year and almost 64,000 since 2020, according to the report.

Florida’s recent growth was concentrated in Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie, Miami, Tampa and Orlando, according to a state report this year.

A surplus of births over deaths helped most in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

New York City has built more housing, which helped stem net losses from people moving away, said Jan Vink, a senior extension associate at Cornell University’s Program on Applied Demographics.

That’s encouraging news for the state’s future, Vink said. In November, the university estimated that New York’s population could shrink by as much as 2 million people over the next 25 years because of low fertility rates and aging, unless those losses are offset by new arrivals in the form of immigration or people moving from other states.

Texas, the Carolinas, Florida and Tennessee had the largest numbers of new residents moving in from other states, though the numbers were down in all those states from the previous year as high interest rates and housing prices led more people to postpone moves.

Stateline, a States Newsroom affiliate, produced this report.

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Austin, TX

Where to recycle your Christmas tree in Texas

Published

15 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Where to recycle your Christmas tree in Texas

TEXAS — Once the holidays have passed, you are encouraged to give your natural Christmas tree another life by recycling it at any number of locations in Texas.

Most drop-off sites open on Dec. 26, but check with your city or county ahead of time to confirm.

There are typically guidelines for tree mulching and recycling. Check with your local recycling location for specifics, but the following rules, provided by Travis County, usually apply:

Only natural trees are accepted (no plastic/artificial trees)
Remove all ornaments, decorations, lights and tree stands (wooden blocks)
Remove all nails, screws, staples, wire and metal
Trees sprayed with flocking or artificial snow are not accepted
Do not place the tree in a “tree bag” or any plastic bag
Netting or rope wrapped around the tree is not accepted
Trees taller than 6 feet must be cut in half

Here are some locations where you can recycle your tree in Texas. The list isn’t exhaustive, so check online with your city or county for a location near you.

For recycling in Travis County, click here.
For the Austin area, click here.
For San Antonio, click here.
For Dallas, click here.
For Fort Worth, click here.
For El Paso, click here.

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Austin, TX

Texas A&M vs USC preview: Scouting report, predictions for Las Vegas Bowl

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Texas A&M vs USC preview: Scouting report, predictions for Las Vegas Bowl

All that’s left in the season for Texas A&M football is the Las Vegas Bowl. With one game left, the Aggies head west to take on the USC Trojans for the first time since 1977.

Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3 SEC) dropped out of the US LBM Coaches Poll at the end of the season, while the Aggies’ next opponent is fighting to finish above .500. USC is 6-6 overall and is 11th in the Big Ten at 4-5.

BUY TICKETS TO TEXAS A&M VS USC

Will A&M take care of business in the final game of 2024? Can they send off Year 1 under head coach Mike Elko on a good note? How will the Aggies fare down three key defenders up front? Can Elko and the Aggies secure a nine-win season for the first time since 2020?

Here’s a full scouting report for the Texas A&M Aggies vs the USC Trojans:

Texas A&M vs USC in Las Vegal Bowl

When: 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Where: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: 1370 AM in Austin; 1150 AM, 93.7 FM in College Station.

Line: Texas A&M is favored by 3½.

Weather: Allegiant Stadium is a dome, rendering the weather ~~to be~~ a nonfactor.

Texas A&M vs USC history

All-time: USC leads 3-0.

Last meeting: 47-28 USC win (1977).

Most memorable meeting: It hasn’t been an extensive history between the two programs, and it hasn’t been a joyous one for the Aggies either. The latest matchup came in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl, played annually in Houston.

The final meeting between the Aggies and Trojans was also the last time A&M played in the bowl game. A&M lost to USC, 47-28, aided by a then-bowl record four-touchdown pass performance from USC’s Rob Hertel. Trojans’ running back Dwight Ford broke a school record with 94 rushing yards.

Know the foe: USC

Last game: 49-35 loss to Notre Dame.

Players to watch: Thanks to increased player movement, it’s oftentimes hard to get a beat on who will and won’t play in non-playoff bowl games. However, looking at the Trojans’ offense, their passing attack was led by sophomore wide receivers Makai Lemon and Zachariah Branch. The duo have combined for 93 receptions, 1168 yards and four touchdowns. Branch is in the transfer portal and is not expected to suit up against the Aggies.

The Trojans started the year with Miller Moss at quarterback, but thanks to USC making a switch, sophomore Jayden Maiava is the starting quarterback now. He has made the last three starts for the Trojans, while Moss has entered the transfer portal, reportedly joining Louisville ahead of the 2025 season.

As a starter, Maiava has totaled 840 passing yards, seven touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Central Texas connections: The USC Trojans football team is a national brand, and with that comes an extensive reach on the recruiting trail. As a result, the Trojans’ roster has its fair share of Texas natives. In total, 11 players call the Lone Star State home, including junior tight end Lake McRee who is from Austin and played at Lake Travis.

When Texas A&M has the ball

It will be interesting to see how the Aggies handle the Las Vegas Bowl, with 19 players reportedly in the transfer portal and at least Nic Scourton already forgoing the bowl game for NFL aspirations.

What Aggies fans can expect to see is Marcel Reed getting plenty of work with him being viewed as the unquestioned starting quarterback heading into the new season for the first time.

Also, preseason-projected starting running back Rueben Owens made his first appearance against the Longhorns in Week 14 following a knee injury that made him unavailable for most of the year. It will be interesting to see if they once again give him game action to close out the year.

Look for the Aggies to work in young players such as freshman wide receiver Ashton Bethal-Roman who finished the year with four receptions, 44 yards and one touchdown in limited action as they head into next season.

When USC has the ball

The Trojans’ passing game is well-documented. They enter the game with the 10th-best passing attack in the nation, averaging 291.7 yards a game. Maiava will be looking for Makai Lemon for much of the evening, while Austin native Lake McRee is also a viable option.

Even with all the attention being paid to their passing game, senior running back Woody Marks tallied 1,133 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns this year, and will be a problem the Aggies will need to contend with as well.

Texas A&M vs USC key matchup

Aggies’ defensive backs vs Trojans’ receivers

A&M’s secondary will have its hands full with this Trojans passing attack, and it will be up to Will Lee III, Dezz Ricks and BJ Mayes to limit the big-play ability of USC’s passing attack.

While teams have had success running on the Aggies recently, the Trojans’ strength lies in the passing game, and A&M should be prepared for an aerial attack during the season finale.

Texas A&M vs USC predictions

Tony Catalina: It’s hard to get a beat on how these non-playoff games will go with all the changes and uncertainty. However, Mike Elko has a chance to get his ninth win of the season, and there is still enough talent in the program and coming back that I think A&M is able to find a way. Texas A&M 27, USC 20.

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