According to Bennett Sandlin (executive director, Texas Municipal League), 74% of Texas’s population lives in urban areas.
“Cities in Texas cover only 4% of the state’s total land area. You’ve got 74% population in Texas, which means it takes up 4%. It’s been thousands of years since cities imposed sensible constraints on what people may do with their land,” Sandlin said.
Sandlin’s assessment is accurate? Does it really seem that the vast majority of Texans reside in areas that only make up a tiny portion of Texas’ overall land?
Sandlin performed all calculations. His group used data they had on the population, as well as information from the United States Census Bureau about land and population. The state of Texas was estimated to have a total of 1.2 million people. This result was achieved by adding together their information on residents of cities to get an estimation of its population. The state’s extent was determined using census data. However, the regions within the cities were also calculated (while avoiding any incorrect information).
According to Sandlin “the census is not always attentive what it means for a city to be incorporated in Texas, and sometimes they include districts or non-city metro areas.”
His calculations include all Texas incorporated cities. These cities range from Houston with more than 2 million residents to Toco in North Texas, where there is an estimated 75 population. Sandlin indicated that he hadn’t done any new calculations since 2015 but it is unlikely that they have changed.
He said, “There were a few new, very small cities established, and there might have been some dis-annexation or annexation but it doesn’t seem to have had any significant effect on the proportion.”
Let’s see what the statistics say. According to Lila Valencia (a senior demographer at Texas Demographic Center), Sandlin’s numbers are correct. Based on 2017 population estimates, Texas had 28.3million people. 73.63% of Texasans reside in incorporated areas, which accounts for approximately 20.8million of the total population.
Valencia used the data collected from the census to link topography with the incorporation cities. The US’s largest state, Texas, has a total land area exceeding 676.6 billion sq. meters. Incorporated areas made up more than 28.7 million square meters, or 4.25% of total land surface in 2017.
The pattern could be similar across the country. According to data published in 2015 by Census Bureau, the majority of population lived in incorporated areas as of 2013. This figure was 62.7%. Incorporated lands made up 3.5% of total country land at that time.
According to Sandlin 74% of Texas’s population is “crammed into just 4% of the state.” According to the latest census statistics, Sandlin is correct in claiming that 74% of Texas’ population lives on 4%. According to the most recent census statistics, approximately 20 million Texans (or 74%) live in incorporated areas, which account for around 4% of Texas’ land area.
Many hectares of this land remain undeveloped. This isn’t because it isn’t inhabitable. It’s simply because people group together and move with one another. As the group grows, it’s more likely that they’ll seek out new places. Texans still have a lot of choices. There are two options for people to buy. land for saleYou can find land near the suburbs and know that in the years to come, the value of your property will go up as new developments are built. Country people may be able to locate cheap land far from others, even though it is unlikely that people will ever find their way to the area. You have a few other options. Whether you’d prefer to have to drive into town or live right next to it, then there are plenty of options out there for you in Texas.