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
Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?
Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.
Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.
Texas, though, is a different story.
For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.
“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”
It all depends on the weather
How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.
Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.
If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.
How can you treat allergies in Austin?
If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:
- Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
- Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
- Take a shower before going to bed.
- Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
- Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
- Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.
Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:
- Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
- Vacuum and sweep regularly.
- Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
- Keep doors and windows closed.
- Clean out the vents in your home.
- Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
- Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
- Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.
Austin, TX
Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races
Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.
Austin, TX
Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.
“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”
According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.
“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”
Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.
“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”
MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.
“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”
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