Austin, TX
Early voting for new schools, buses, and more begins in Central Texas
People certainly haven’t stopped moving to Austin, but the flow of newbies to Texas has slowed down significantly — including in the capital city.
That’s according to real estate platform Redfin, which released a study based on U.S. census data in April detailing changes in net domestic migration — i.e. the amount a population rose or fell due to people moving from other parts of the country — in the country’s 50 most populous metros in 2024. It noted that Texas, Florida, and other parts of the so-called Sun Belt were the hardest hit in comparison to prior years.
Despite maintaining the largest proportion of its inflow out of all major Texas cities, Austin still had an inflow of 8,239 fewer people than it did in 2023. Austin gained a net total of 13,980 people during 2024, compared to 22,219 in 2023. That’s about a 37 percent decrease.
Some similar studies note that people who would be moving to Austin — or people who already live in Austin — are opting for a life in the more affordable and laid-back suburbs like Hutto, Georgetown, and Manor. Some suburbs like Round Rock are particularly good at drawing newcomers for whom money isn’t a top concern. Either way, the suburb is becoming a heavyweight for Texans.
The Redfin study echoes the economic impetus and attributes some of the spike and drop in population growth to pandemic prices.
“Although the cost of buying or renting a home in much of Florida and Texas is now flattening out or falling, it rose rapidly during the pandemic, when migration into those states skyrocketed,” the study says. “Places like Tampa, Dallas and Austin were once seen as affordable alternatives to high-cost cities like San Francisco and New York, but now the gap in housing costs between big-city job centers and Sun Belt metros has shrunk.”
Other concerns it lists for both Texas and Florida include a return to working in big-city offices; natural disasters raising insurance premiums; and a high cost of living paired with economic uncertainty, influencing people to say in their current homes. It even cites competition from more affordable places. Even though Texas is often considered fairly bargain friendly, there’s often a cheaper option than its bigger cities; the report offers Minneapolis and Indianapolis as an alternative to Miami or Austin.
Here’s how other Texas metros stack up:
Dallas gained 35,229 people in 2023 and only 12,927 in 2024. That’s a reduction of 22,302, more than half of the 2023 figure. Houston saw an inflow of 39,461 movers in 2023 and 21,240 in 2024. That leaves a reduction of 18,221, slightly less than half.
Next up was San Antonio, which gained 30,103 people in 2023 and 18,981 in 2024, resulting in a comparative loss of 11,122. Finally, Fort Worth gained a relatively small set of 21,180 movers in 2023, which dropped to 11,623 in 2024; a decrease of 9,557.
On the other side of the spectrum, some metros are just doing especially well at holding onto its residents, the report points out. New York’s outflow shrank the most out of any other metro. Los Angeles followed. A decreased outflow for these cities is still a loss, just like a decreased inflow across Texas is still a gain — but it looks like the gap is closing slower now.
The top 10 metros where net domestic migration fell most in 2024 are:
- Tampa, Florida
- Dallas, Texas
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Houston, Texas
- Miami, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- San Antonio, Texas
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Austin, Texas
Austin, TX
Austin church to use 3D printing for new campus
AUSTIN, Texas — The housing market has cooled, with J.P. Morgan predicting house prices in the U.S. will stall. Despite the stagnate home price analysis, one Texas-based tech company is developing an unconventional way to build. An Austin church is tapping into ICON’s 3D printing technology to rebuild its church campus.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has been on its 8-acre property since the late 1950s.
“We’ve long been in this kind of predicament here as a congregation that we have these really deep-level structural problems with our buildings, and we’ve really never been able to imagine being able to pay for it,” said Father Zac Koons, the leader of the church.
He said costly quotas to repair aging infrastructure is one big reason they partnered with ICON to develop a whole new church campus.
“It’s not only a less expensive or a more affordable way to build, it’s also a more environmentally friendly way to build,” Koons said.
ICON’s “Titan” construction system will be used for this project, bringing the world’s first 3D-printed church to Austin.
“I think this will be a famous building,” said Jason Ballard, the CEO and co-founder of ICON. “I think it will stand for hundreds of years, and I think they’re just so pleased with what they’re able to get on their budget out of this building.”
The company says its concrete mixture can save future homeowners and businesses roughly 40% compared to conventional wood and metal frameworks.
“For the past two years, we have been working on a second generation of printer technology that is multi-story, easier to set up, easier to operate, even lower cost, even faster,” Ballard said.
Had it not been for the partnership with ICON, Koons said his church would not have been able to afford such a large-scale project.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do something as ambitious as we’re talking about doing without ICON, for sure,” Koons said.
He said they’ll break ground in about a year, with hopes to finish the first building by the summer of 2028.
Austin, TX
Goodwill Central Texas launches “Swap Your Shop” Challenge
Austin, TX — If you’re looking for an easy way to make a difference this Earth Day, Goodwill Central Texas has a simple challenge for you.
It’s called “Swap Your Shop,” and the idea is straightforward. Instead of buying something new, try picking up one secondhand item. That one small switch can help cut down on waste and reduce your environmental impact.
According to a 2023 report, if every U.S. shopper made that choice just once this year, it could reduce carbon emissions by more than 2 billion pounds. That’s like taking 76 million cars off the road for a day. It could also save more than 20 billion gallons of water and keep hundreds of millions of pounds of waste out of landfills.
And it doesn’t have to be a big commitment. Even buying one thrifted clothing item instead of a new one could prevent about 450 million pounds of waste each year.
So whether you already love thrifting or have never tried it, this is a good time to start. Swap out one purchase, give something pre-owned a second life, and see the difference it can make.
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If you do take part, you can even share your find on social media and tag @austingoodwill.
Austin, TX
AUS plans for 18,000 departing passengers day after Trump order pays TSA employees
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin airport expects over 18,000 departing passengers on Saturday, this coming the morning after Trump signed an executive order to pay TSA employees after Congress failed to agree on DHS funding.
The airport recommends travelers arrive 2.5 hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international departures.
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AUS noted that many MotoGP fans will be departing from the airport this weekend, the motorcycle racing event at Circuit of the Americas happening this weekend and ending on Sunday.
The DHS shutdown has burdened airports nationwide with hours-long TSA lines. Austin’s lines were especially long during SXSW, stretching out the terminal and down the road.
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