The Little Texas City Keeping Pace With Austin And San Antonio's Population Growth

If someone asked you to name the fastest-growing cities in Texas, you may be inclined to go with Houston, Dallas, Austin or San Antonio. All those answers would be correct, but the city of New Braunfels is fast becoming a boomtown in the Lone Star State. Benzinga looks at New Braunfels and why it has become such an appealing option for people moving to Texas.

There's Something About New Braunfels

For most of its history, New Braunfels' biggest claim to fame has been as the home of Naegelin's Bakery, which opened in 1868 and is Texas's oldest bakery. It is also the home of the Schlitterbahn Water Park & Resort and has two rivers — the Comal and the Guadalupe — running through it. The rivers and the city's German heritage have provided New Braunfels with a small-town feel that is typical of central Texas.

New Braunfels' location also gives its residents easy freeway access to San Antonio and Austin, which are two of Texas's most dynamic cities. As San Antonio and Austin have both benefitted from the Texas population boom, people began taking notice of little New Braunfels and began moving there. The city's population has grown from around 19,000 in the early 1990s to 100,000 today and the growth is continuing at a rapid pace.

As is the case with many of America's fastest-growing cities, housing affordability is a major draw. The average home in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area is around $370,000 — almost $150,000 less than the national average. What New Braunfels offers in contrast to San Antonio is a slice of small-town life. Even with a population of 100,000, the New Braunfels' lifestyle will feel very serene for anyone relocating from big cities like Los Angeles.

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A Rapidly Growing Economy

New Braunfels' economy is growing almost as quickly as its population. According to the New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation, the city's 2021 gross regional product of $2.8 billion is almost double what it was 10 years ago. Employers also are taking notice, with the Continental Corp., which makes tires and parts for several major auto manufacturers, recently spending $110 million on a new facility that will create 500 jobs in the middle of town.

Meanwhile, San Antonio is only a few miles down the road, and with a population of nearly 1.5 million, it features a full range of employment opportunities in almost every sector imaginable. Austin is only about an hour up Interstate 35. That may seem like a long commute to some people, but for veterans of big-city traffic, it's manageable.

Not Everyone Is Happy With The City's Growth

When a city experiences the kind of growth taking place in New Braunfels, inevitably, some people won't be happy with the changes. Locals being priced out is an unfortunate consequence of so many newcomers with deep pockets from L.A. or even San Antonio arriving in New Braunfels. This is happening in New Braunfels, and some of the city's long-time residents are pulling up stakes to search for cheaper property.

The irony in that is that many of the most recent transplants to New Braunfels are people who were priced out of the cities they left. This is the real estate cycle, and it will never change. In the meantime, if you're thinking of making a move to Texas, or looking for an investment opportunity with upside, New Braunfels might check the boxes on your list.

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