Hutto listed in top 15 of fastest growing cities in U.S.: report

Hutto makes list of fastest growing cities

A new U.S. Census report put seven Texas cities in the top 15 fastest-growing places in the country.

HUTTO, Texas - A new U.S. Census report put seven Texas cities in the top 15 fastest-growing places in the country.

Hutto was the only Central Texas city on the list.

City of Hutto's growth

What they're saying:

The houses popping up left and right are a testament to that. It's a far cry from what Jena Dubon remembers as a kid.

"They were excited about a Wendy’s coming like twenty years ago, and we finally got it a few years ago, and now we have big places coming," said Dubon.

She's now a realtor in Hutto with On Air Realty. She points to the city's location and affordability as its attractions.

"We have a toll road really close by, 79. We’re in the corridor of when it comes to tech, like big tech companies, so really great place to put some roots down and grow," said Dubon.

According to the U.S. Census, Hutto is the 13th fastest-growing city in the country. Between 2023 and 2024, it grew by more than 9 percent.

"I knew that we were growing fast because I’m exhausted," said Matthew Rector, Hutto's city engineer. "My team is exhausted, but I didn’t realize we were going to rank 13th in the nation. That to me was a shock."

Rector is helping guide that growth with plans to expand water capacity, treatment plants, and roads.

"We have Samsung just to our east, and so they’re going to be generating a lot more traffic, so we’re working with the county and TxDOT to figure out how we can facilitate that without creating too much of an adverse impact for our residents, so we are busy busy busy," said Rector.

It's not just people moving to Hutto. Companies are building new offices, too, like one across from the city hall, which city officials believe is a Swedish company working with Samsung.

"We’re seeing a lot of growth in areas where other metro areas are seeing declines," said Cheney Gamboa, Hutto's director of economic development. "For example, office space. That’s something we’re building here at the Co-Op."

For Gamboa, keeping Hutto's small-town charm with its shiny new big city amenities is all a delicate balancing act.

"Your residents want quality of life, but they need infrastructure," said Gamboa. "Your business needs infrastructure, but their employees want quality of life, so it’s just kind of striking that balance about what you're prioritizing and what you're trying to achieve for the community at any given time."

Georgetown has long boasted of being one of the fastest-growing places in the U.S. It didn't make the list this year, but it was one of seven U.S. cities to pass the population threshold of 100,000 in 2024.