Austin vaults past San Francisco

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Fast-growing Austin zoomed ahead of San Francisco to become the 13th largest city in the nation, according to the latest Census figures.

And Texas' capital city may not stay long in the Lucky 13 spot.

"Austin is nipping at the heals of Jacksonville, Fla., and Indianapolis," the city city said in a news release. "But is unlikely to break the Top 10 largest cities, when it butts up to San Jose's 967,487 people."

The city, which now has 820,611 people, has been steadily climbing the population ladder. Just six years ago, Austin was the nation's 16th largest city.

Mayor Lee Leffingwell, meanwhile, pointed out that the steady growth brings with it more than just bragging rights. It also means that city leaders must be ready to tackle issues like traffic and social services to manage the surge in populiton.

"Imagine your normal morning or afternoon commute, but with 500,000 additional cars on the road," the mayor said.

"That is our future - unless we take action now to change it. Austin's traffic problems are the direct result of our dramatic, ongoing population growth, and our dramatic, ongoing failure to invest in the systems and infrastructure we need to stay ahead of it."

In April, the Census Bureau ranked Austin as the second fastest-growing area in the country

From April 2010 to July 2011, the Austin area grew by 67,230 people -- the 10th highest in the nation.

The population of the Austin metropolitan area -- including Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties -- as of July 2011 is 1,783,519.

Among the 50 fastest-growing metro areas over the last decade, only 24 of them were also among the 50 fastest growing since the 2010 Census.

The rapid growth is also evident in other regions of Texas, the Census said. Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston added more people between 2010 and 2011 than any other metro area - 155,000 and 140,000, respectively. The two areas were the biggest gainers during the 2000 to 2010 period.

Houston gained people more than D-FW over the decade.