Trae, on May 5 2007, 03:53 PM, said:
I think Austin's metro will pass SA's soon because it is growing faster, and already not too far behind it.
I averaged both cities rates of growth for the 2000-2006 period. If you make the assumption that the growth rates for the next 30 years will look like the average over the last 7 ('00 - '06), Austin MSA will be about the same size as the San Antonio MSA around 2038. So for another 30 years San Antonio will remain the larger MSA. It is interesting to note some of the factors that weigh into this.
Such as, Austin tends to do much better in growth than San Antonio during "High Tech Industry" growth years. While San Antonio grows very steadily even during big downturns, it doesn't appear to grow as fast during the good years.
It is conceivable that if a few downturns in the High Tech Industry occurred during the next 30 years, then it may take longer than 30 years for Austin MSA to surpass San Antonio MSA.