The population boom along the Interstate 35 corridor shows San Antonio and Austin could eventually grow together into a mega, metro region, the state demographer said after studying new census data.
Hays and Comal counties — both of which hug I-35 and are wedged between San Antonio and Austin — were the fifth and ninth fastest-growing counties in the U.S. from July 2013 to July 2014, according to census estimates released Thursday.
Both counties had moved up on the list from the previous year, when Hays was ranked the 10th-fastest growing county in the U.S., while Comal was 22nd. Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, was sixth on this year’s list.
The unrelenting growth indicates San Antonio and Austin will one day merge, said Lloyd Potter, the state’s demographer based at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
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Census estimates hint at mega-region between San Antonio and Austin
