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Austin reclaims No. 4 rank among Texas cities in 2025: See new list

For a brief period two years ago, Fort Worth had more residents than the Austin capital. See the latest rankings.

Published December 29, 2025 at 4:46pm by Alexis Simmerman

Travelers wait in a security line that overflowed outside the terminal at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport on the day after the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

After briefly losing the position in January 2024 estimates, Austin has returned to being the fourth-most-populous city in the Lone Star State.

Two years ago, Fort Worth overtook the state capital in population estimates by nearly 3,000 residents. Between 2020 and 2024, Fort Worth's population growth rate (7.7%) nearly tripled that of Austin (2.6%). However, July 2024 and January 2025 estimates show Austin reclaiming the No. 4 spot.

Population figures for Texas counties and places from July 1, 2024, and Jan. 1, 2025, were collected in the Texas Demographic Center's 2024 Population Estimates report. All five cities with the most residents saw bigger percent changes from 2020 to 2025 compared with those from 2020 to 2024. As in 2024, Houston (3.4%) and Dallas (2.6%) had the lowest growth rates while Fort Worth (11,1%) had the largest among the top five.

Here's a look at the latest Texas population estimates for cities and counties.

5 most populous Texas cities in January 2025

No. 1: Houston

2020 census count: 2,304,580
July 2024 population estimate: 2,366,496
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 2,383,293
2020-2024 percent change: 2.7%
2020-2025 percent change: 3.4%

No. 2: San Antonio

2020 census count: 1,434,625
July 2024 population estimate: 1,535,884
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 1,554,626
2020-2024 percent change: 7.1%
2020-2025 percent change: 8.4%

No. 3: Dallas

2020 census count: 1,304,379
July 2024 population estimate: 1,331,014
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 1,338,750
2020-2024 percent change: 2.0%
2020-2025 percent change: 2.6%

No. 4: Austin

2020 census count: 961,855
July 2024 population estimate: 1,033,097
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 1,054,007
2020-2024 percent change: 7.4%
2020-2025 percent change: 9.6%

No. 5: Fort Worth

2020 census count: 918,915
July 2024 population estimate: 1,009,064
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 1,020,987
2020-2024 percent change: 9.8%
2020-2025 percent change: 11.1%

5 most populous Texas counties in January 2025

A graphic shows percent population changes across Texas counties, 2020-2024.

As on the city level, the top 10 most populous Texas counties also saw more growth between 2020 and 2025 than between 2020 and 2024. With the exception of Tarrant County, the five with the most residents are also home to the five most populous cities.

No. 1: Harris

2020 census count: 4,731,145
July 2024 population estimate: 4,959,499
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 5,003,892
2020-2024 percent change: 4.8%
2020-2025 percent change: 5.8%

No. 2: Dallas

2020 census count: 2,613,539
July 2024 population estimate: 2,676,611
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 2,691,548
2020-2024 percent change: 2.4%
2020-2025 percent change: 3.0%

No. 3: Tarrant

2020 census count: 2,110,640
July 2024 population estimate: 2,230,708
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 2,245,229
2020-2024 percent change: 5.7%
2020-2025 percent change: 6.4%

No. 4: Bexar

2020 census count: 2,009,324
July 2024 population estimate: 2,145,871
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 2,167,567
2020-2024 percent change: 6.8%
2020-2025 percent change: 7.9%

No. 5: Travis

2020 census count: 1,290,188
July 2024 population estimate: 1,384,812
Jan. 2025 population estimate: 1,395,906
2020-2024 percent change: 7.3%
2020-2025 percent change: 8.2%