Austin’s population continues to grow

A new report released by the Austin Chamber of Commerce finds that the city grew by 16 percent between 2010 and 2019, adding a total of 355,902 residents. The report also touches on trends “like where people move when they leave Austin or what counties within the Austin metro area people move between,” finding that “Travis and Williamson counties accounted for the most moves in the region,” according to the Austin Transportation Department. Looking at transit trends (albeit pre-pandemic), the report found that a huge majority – 74 percent – of residents are still driving alone to work while 26 percent used alternative modes of transportation like bicycling, carpooling, taking public transit or walking. The Transportation Department notes that while in all likelihood many people will continue to work remotely from home, “as more people continue to move to Austin, it remains critical to provide different options for people to efficiently get where they need to go.” The department’s goal is to achieve 50/50 mode share by 2039 – half the population driving alone to work and half using some other mode. “If we achieve the mobility goals set in the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, we can maintain approximately the same number of cars that are on the road today, while almost doubling in population.”