New data from the Texas Demographic Center suggests that Texas’ population may have surpassed 30.7 million this year, a growth of more than 5% since 2020.

Much of this growth is concentrated in the state’s major urban areas, in what demographer Helen You has called the Texas Triangle. This includes Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

“These four areas represent about 69% of Texas’ population in 2023, but in terms of growth, they actually account for 84% of the growth between 2020 and 2023,” You said.

Updated TDC 2023 population estimate published earlier this week shows that North Texas welcomed nearly 561,000 residents during this period.

“The areas that are experiencing higher rates of population change are actually the counties surrounding these central urban counties,” You said.

Counties in the region’s “outer ring” experienced estimated double-digit growth rates. That includes Collin, Denton, Wise and Parker counties, which grew between 11 and nearly 20 percent between 2020 and early 2024, according to TDC estimates.

Kaufman County tops the list, growing 26.7% between 2020 and 2024 and welcoming more than 38,700 new residents. Rockwall County also grew by 25%, adding more than 26,000 new residents.

Not all regions of Texas saw growth: You added that populations actually declined in about a third of Texas counties, primarily in the Panhandle and West Texas regions.

Meanwhile, growth was slower in urban counties like Dallas and Tarrant, but both gained tens of thousands of residents. Dallas gained more than 16,000 residents while Tarrant gained more than 93,000.

Lloyd Potter, TDC’s principal demographer, said an average of 864 people move to the state each day, taking into account the influx of domestic and international migrants.

“The last decade it was about 500 people a day, but now it’s gone up a little bit here in the last couple of years,” Potter said.

Other North Texas counties that have seen notable growth include Ellis, Grayson and Hunt counties.

Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Do you have any advice? Email Pablo at [email protected]. You can follow him on @pabloaarauz.

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