Fastest Growing Counties For the 21st Century

NFPO Home

It is tricky to establish how many communities exist in Williamson County, because the determination of "community" is subjective and without set criteria. Clara Stearns Scarbrough in her 1973 book, Land of Good Water identified thirty three viable communities. These communities ranged in population from twenty people in Norman's Crossing to more than 10,000 residents in Taylor. By 2004, there were 11 towns with populations of over 1,000 individuals and seven towns with populations above 5,000, according Williamson County Commissioner's Court. Williamson County is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area.

Williamson County which was founded in 1848, had already grown in population to 249,980 by the year 2000. But in the six years that marked the beginning of the 21 Century, the county increased the number of residents by 41.5 percent bringing the estimated total population in July 2006 to 353,830.

The astounding growth of the last six years has made Williamson County the number 3 fastest growing county in the Lone Star State of Texas and the sixteenth fastest in the nation.

Although no figures are available to determine how the growth may have affected the price of homes in the area, in the year 2000 the median cost for a home within the 1,124 square mile jurisdiction was $125,800.

Get the newsletter