Lists of the best places to live in Texas usually rank cities on somebody’s weighting of schools, weather and restaurants. This one uses a harder measure: where people actually went. Between 2020 and 2024, New Braunfels grew 28.8 percent, faster than any other Texas city of its size.
The ten below are ranked on federal population estimates for cities that had at least 75,000 residents in 2020. Moving house is expensive and disruptive, so a city that tens of thousands of people chose is evidence of something, even if it is not the whole story.
Why Growth Is a Useful Proxy, and Where It Misleads
Population growth is a revealed preference. Nobody fills in a survey saying a city is desirable and then stays where they are; they sell a house, change job and arrive. That makes it harder to argue with than a scored ranking.
- It captures what people weigh. Jobs, housing cost, schools and commute are all already inside the decision, without anyone choosing how much each should count.
- It is measured consistently. The same federal method applies to every city, so the comparison between them is like for like.
- It lags. These figures run to July 2024, so a city that changed character in 2025 is not yet visible in them.
The honest limitation is that growth measures arrival, not satisfaction. Fast growth strains schools, roads and water supply, and the residents who were already there often experience it as deterioration rather than success.
Percentage growth also flatters small cities. Fort Worth added 89,183 people, more than any other city in the state, and still ranks eighth here because it started from more than nine hundred thousand. Both numbers are in the table for that reason.
Best Places to Live in Texas: Population Growth 2020 to 2024
Texas cities above 75,000 residents in 2020, ranked by percentage growth since.
| # | City | 2020 | 2024 | Added | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Braunfels | 90,441 | 116,477 | +26,036 | 28.8% |
| 2 | Conroe | 89,973 | 114,581 | +24,608 | 27.4% |
| 3 | Denton | 139,874 | 165,998 | +26,124 | 18.7% |
| 4 | Frisco | 200,537 | 235,208 | +34,671 | 17.3% |
| 5 | Temple | 82,217 | 96,267 | +14,050 | 17.1% |
| 6 | McKinney | 195,333 | 227,526 | +32,193 | 16.5% |
| 7 | Round Rock | 119,529 | 135,359 | +15,830 | 13.2% |
| 8 | Fort Worth | 918,923 | 1,008,106 | +89,183 | 9.7% |
| 9 | Bryan | 83,988 | 91,541 | +7,553 | 9.0% |
| 10 | Allen | 104,648 | 113,746 | +9,098 | 8.7% |
The 10 Fastest Growing Cities in Texas
Ranked by percentage growth from the 2020 estimates base to July 2024.
1. New Braunfels: 28.8% growth
Population 2024: 116,477 · In 2020: 90,441 · Residents added: +26,036 · Growth: 28.8%
New Braunfels grew 28.8 percent between 2020 and 2024, the fastest rate of any Texas city above 75,000 people. It added 26,036 residents to reach 116,477.
It sits on the corridor between San Antonio and Austin, which is the structural reason. A town that was once a weekend destination for its rivers is now a commuting base for two metropolitan job markets, and the German founding still shapes its centre.
2. Conroe: 27.4% growth
Population 2024: 114,581 · In 2020: 89,973 · Residents added: +24,608 · Growth: 27.4%
Conroe added 24,608 people for 27.4 percent growth, second fastest in the state, reaching 114,581.
It occupies the equivalent position north of Houston that New Braunfels holds between San Antonio and Austin. Lake Conroe gave it a leisure identity first and the Houston commute gave it a population second.
3. Denton: 18.7% growth
Population 2024: 165,998 · In 2020: 139,874 · Residents added: +26,124 · Growth: 18.7%
Denton grew 18.7 percent to 165,998, adding 26,124 residents. It is the largest city in the top three by both population and absolute gain.
Two universities anchor it, which produces an unusually young population and a music scene with a reputation well beyond its size. It is also far enough from Dallas and Fort Worth to retain a centre of its own rather than becoming a suburb of either.
4. Frisco: 17.3% growth
Population 2024: 235,208 · In 2020: 200,537 · Residents added: +34,671 · Growth: 17.3%
Frisco added 34,671 people, the second largest absolute increase on this list, growing 17.3 percent to 235,208.
It is the clearest example of planned suburban growth in the state: corporate relocations, professional sports facilities and residential development arriving together rather than in sequence. The result is a city that did not exist at this scale twenty years ago.
5. Temple: 17.1% growth
Population 2024: 96,267 · In 2020: 82,217 · Residents added: +14,050 · Growth: 17.1%
Temple grew 17.1 percent to 96,267, adding 14,050 residents and approaching the hundred thousand mark.
Its position on the corridor between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth matters, and so does a long established medical sector. Healthcare employment gives it an economic base that does not depend on being within commuting distance of anywhere.
6. McKinney: 16.5% growth
Population 2024: 227,526 · In 2020: 195,333 · Residents added: +32,193 · Growth: 16.5%
McKinney added 32,193 people for 16.5 percent growth, reaching 227,526 and sitting just below Frisco in size.
It has managed something most fast-growing suburbs do not, which is to keep a genuine historic centre intact while expanding around it. The courthouse square predates the growth by more than a century.
7. Round Rock: 13.2% growth
Population 2024: 135,359 · In 2020: 119,529 · Residents added: +15,830 · Growth: 13.2%
Round Rock grew 13.2 percent to 135,359, adding 15,830 residents north of Austin.
It was a technology company town first and has diversified since, which has made its growth steadier than the boom-and-correction pattern seen in some Austin suburbs. It is also the most established of the Austin-area entries here.
8. Fort Worth: 9.7% growth
Population 2024: 1,008,106 · In 2020: 918,923 · Residents added: +89,183 · Growth: 9.7%
Fort Worth added 89,183 people, by far the largest absolute increase in Texas, and crossed one million residents to reach 1,008,106.
At 9.7 percent its rate is modest next to the suburbs above it, which is what a large base does to a percentage. In people rather than proportion it is adding more than New Braunfels and Conroe combined.
9. Bryan: 9.0% growth
Population 2024: 91,541 · In 2020: 83,988 · Residents added: +7,553 · Growth: 9.0%
Bryan grew 9.0 percent to 91,541, adding 7,553 residents, the smallest absolute gain on this list.
It shares a metropolitan area with College Station and Texas A and M, and its growth tracks the university’s. It is the entry here least dependent on a major metropolitan commute.
10. Allen: 8.7% growth
Population 2024: 113,746 · In 2020: 104,648 · Residents added: +9,098 · Growth: 8.7%
Allen rounds out the ten at 8.7 percent growth, reaching 113,746 with 9,098 added residents.
It is the most built-out city on this list, which is precisely why its rate is lowest. Land runs out before demand does, and the slowdown in a place like Allen is a supply constraint rather than a loss of appeal.
The Corridors Doing the Work
Plot these ten on a map and they are not scattered. Nearly all of them sit on one of three corridors, which is the single clearest pattern in the data.
- San Antonio to Austin. New Braunfels and Round Rock sit on this stretch, where two metropolitan job markets have grown towards each other along Interstate 35.
- North of Dallas. Frisco, McKinney, Allen and Denton form a band of suburban growth that has absorbed corporate relocations from outside the state.
- North of Houston. Conroe anchors this one, with lake leisure and a Houston commute in combination.
Temple and Bryan are the exceptions that explain the rule. Temple grew on healthcare employment and Bryan on a university, which is to say both have a reason to exist that does not depend on being within driving distance of a larger city.
That distinction matters if you are choosing between them. A corridor city’s fortunes are tied to the metropolitan area it feeds, while a city with its own economic base is more insulated from what happens forty miles away.
What the Numbers Do Not Tell You
Four things should be checked locally before any of this turns into a decision, and none of them appears in a population table.
Property tax is the first. Texas levies no personal income tax and funds local services through property taxes instead, and the rate varies substantially between cities and school districts within the same metropolitan area.
Water is the second, and it is becoming the serious one. Several of these cities have grown faster than their water infrastructure was planned for, and restrictions in dry years are now routine rather than exceptional in parts of central Texas.
Schools are the third, and the boundary matters more than the city. A single city frequently sits across more than one school district, of quite different quality, so an address decides this rather than a postal town.
The grid is the fourth. Texas operates its own electricity network, and the winter failure of 2021 remains the reason many residents ask about backup heating in a way they would not elsewhere.
How These Figures Are Produced
The ranking comes from the Census Bureau population estimates programme, which publishes annual estimates for every incorporated place in the country between the decennial counts.
These are estimates rather than a census. The Bureau starts from the 2020 count and updates it using births, deaths and migration indicators, and the methodology the Bureau publishes explains how each component is derived.
The practical consequence is that figures for small places carry more uncertainty than figures for large ones, which is part of why this list uses a 75,000 resident floor. Below that, year to year movement is as likely to be estimation noise as real change.
City boundaries also move. Texas allows annexation, so part of a city’s growth can reflect land added rather than people arriving, which is worth checking for any city at the top of a list like this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest growing city in Texas?
New Braunfels, among cities with at least 75,000 residents. It grew 28.8 percent between 2020 and 2024, adding 26,036 people to reach 116,477, helped by its position between San Antonio and Austin.
Which Texas city added the most people?
Fort Worth, by a wide margin. It added 89,183 residents and passed one million, which is more in absolute terms than any other Texas city even though its 9.7 percent rate places it eighth on this list.
Is Texas still cheaper than other states?
On the federal price index Texas sits close to the national level rather than among the cheapest states, and its fast-growing suburbs are the most expensive part of it. The absence of a state income tax is the clearer financial advantage.
Do these cities have good schools?
It varies by district rather than by city, and several of these cities are split across more than one school district. The district boundary covering a specific address matters more than which city the address is in.
