Fort Worth surpasses Austin to become fourth-largest city in Texas; ATX drops to 13th nationwide

This story is part of the KXAN Data Hub, where numbers help tell the whole story.We've created several data-driven stories and databases on topics including weather and climate, politics, education, sports and growth in Texas. Each story in the KXAN Data Hub is updated as new data becomes available.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — While the Austin metro's population continues to grow at a rapid pace, the city of Austin itself has dropped in the largest city rankings, both within Texas and nationwide.
New population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday show Fort Worth has overtaken the capital city to become the fourth-largest city in the state. On a national scale, Austin dropped to the 13th-largest city.
RELATED | These were Texas' fastest-growing cities in 2024, according to new Census Bureau estimates
Austin's population was estimated at 993,588 in July 2024, an increase of 4,005, or 0.4%, since July 2023. Fort Worth grew at a much faster pace during the same timeframe — up by more than 23,000 residents, or 2.4% — to more than 1 million.
Houston, San Antonio and Dallas remain the three largest cities in the state. Houston ranks as the fourth-largest city in the U.S., while San Antonio and Dallas rank seventh and ninth.
MORE DATA: See the new population estimate for your city
Austin was the nation's tenth-largest city as recently as 2022, but slipped to eleventh last year behind Jacksonville, Florida. This year, it has fallen further to 13th, behind Fort Worth and San Jose, California.
The Austin metro as a whole grew by more than 58,000 residents between July 2023 and July 2024, but much of that growth was in suburban communities outside the city of Austin itself.
In the KXAN viewing area, four cities appear in the top 30 fastest-growing in the state: Jarrell (28.8%), Marble Falls (24%), Dripping Springs (16.9%) and Liberty Hill (15%). Lockhart, Hutto, Leander and Bastrop all grew by at least 8%, compared to the 0.4% growth seen in Austin.
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