OSD News
May 06,2012
Changed face of schools striking. School yearbooks tell the story
Existing education models and resources will be tested as the trend advances. "More and more of our kids will be of Hispanic descent, and that poses challenges for us," Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter said.
"If we are not successful in educating the growing Hispanic population that's been driven by children coming into the population, we are looking at some real challenges to the quality of life in Texas," Potter said. "And all the school districts will have to make adjustments to make sure they are prepared to address the needs of young Hispanic learners. We have this huge challenge. It's kind of daunting when you look at it."
"Those kids get into the school system and have a relatively poor prognosis of being successful compared to kids that are from a middle-class or upper-middle class family," said Potter, the state demographer. "It just feeds this whole thing, unless we can get kids showing up at kindergarten ready to learn."
State leaders are aware of the effect but cut funding last year for full-day Pre-K, a program that helps prepare low-income youngsters for school to minimize the chance they will drop out later.
"If we don't invest in it, we're not going to get a return," Potter said.
April 24,2012
Senior Spending Impacting Local Economy. Senior Economist Dr. JoJo Estrada believes the retiree population in the Tyler area has a significant impact on spending, jobs and other aspects of the local e
Estrada, senior economist for the Texas Comptroller's Office, along with Dr. Lila Valencia, of the State Demographer's Office; Jesse Acosta, the retiree champion for the Industry Growth Initiative; Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass and Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Tom Mullins gave a special Retiree Presentation to about 50 people Monday at The University of Texas at Tyler Ornelas Activity Center.
Dr. Lila Valencia, a legislative liaison and researcher for the State Demographer's Office, talked about the state's population trends, as well as those in Tyler and Smith County.
She said 25 to 54 year olds make up the bulk of the population in Texas but "our aging population is increasing as we go through the decades."
April 06,2012
As the Bay Area Struggles, Texas Booms. Houston, Dallas, and Austin are all adding more jobs than SF or San Jose
If you could afford a bigger house with a lower mortgage rate and get paid a higher salary, the math of that is pretty hard to resist. And so you see that happening thousands and thousands of times over," said Lloyd Potter, head of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
"While the Bay Area added about 85,000 new residents from April 2010 to July 2011, the Dallas-Forth Worth area added 155,000, making it the metropolitan region that showed the largest increase in population during that time, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.
April 05,2012
San Antonio's population continues to spike up
Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center, said the state's growth rate between 2010 and 2011 puts it on pace to repeat the 21 percent growth between 2000 and 2010.
And although growth can bring problems, he agreed with Emmett that it's better than the opposite.
"Growth is certainly an indicator of economic growth," Potter said. "Most people have a hard time looking at economic growth and thinking that's bad."
February 16,2012
Excerpt: Cal Jillson's "Lone Star Tarnished"
As Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter said in early 2011, "A [Hispanic] population that isn't making enough money to fuel our economy, or ends up being a burden on the state — that is not indicative of having a higher quality of life in the future."
Texas has two choices: It can either try to change these numbers, or it can try to change the social and economic attributes of the coming Hispanic majority. Over the first century and more of the state's history, Texans and their political leaders took the first path; they tried to shape the racial and ethnic makeup of the state. During the coming decades, Texans and their political leaders will either commit to the second path, changing Hispanic social and economic attributes, or pay an unsustainably heavy price.
Jillson joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University in July 1995, and served as chairman of the Department of Political Science and director of the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies from 1995 to 2001. He is a frequent commentator on domestic and international politics.
December 21,2011
Texas is tops in population growth
State demographer Lloyd Potter said the in-migration confirms that the Texas economy continues to fare relatively well nationally and internationally.
"A lot of the growth is still being driven by in-migration. That's coming from other states with California being the biggest contributor to Texas," he said.
California remains the most populous state, with 37.7 million residents. Texas is second at 25.7 million, followed by New York (19.5 million), Florida (19.1 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).
November 17,2011
Californians finding their way to Texas
The impact of the long-term economic downturn the country has experienced is evident in the figures released by the Census — just 11.6 percent of Americans moved between 2010 and 2011, the lowest percentage since the Census Bureau began tracking the information in 1948.
"It's much more difficult for someone to put their house on the market and relocate now,” said Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center. “And when you look at employment, there's not that much hiring happening."
November 17,2011
Hispanics make up nearly half of all Texas births in 2010, U.S. says
Migration from other states and other countries, as well as a high fertility rate among Hispanics, are driving Hispanic growth in Texas, said Lloyd Potter, state demographer and director of the Texas State Data Center.
"And the Hispanic population in Texas is very young," Potter said. "Just by the age factor, we have relatively few deaths, and consequently among Hispanics, there are significantly larger number of births than deaths."
In 2010, Texas saw 189,120 Hispanic births, accounting for 49 percent of the state total, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday. Hispanics make up 37.6 percent of Texas' population, according to the census.
November 16,2011
Californians moving to Texas in record numbers
In 2010 alone, almost 70,000 Californians moved to Texas. Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center, said there historically has been movement back and forth between the two states.
Texas' relatively strong economy - with 8.5 percent unemployment compared with 11.9 percent in California - gets most of the credit, he said.
November 15,2011
Census finds thousands of Californians flocking to Texas
Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center, said the housing market is a factor as well.
"It's much more difficult for someone to put their house on the market and relocate now," Potter noted. "And when you look at employment, there's not that much hiring happening."
In another sign of the times, Alison Fields, chief of the Census Bureau's migration statistics branch, said so many people who moved wrote on their forms that they were forced out by foreclosure or eviction that the bureau will add those options to official forms beginning next year.
The drop - both within a state and between states - was especially steep for young adults and for college graduates 25 and older.
"They are the people that fuel our economy," Frey said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "The fact that we see these college graduates stuck in the mud doesn't bode well for what they can contribute economically."….
In 2010 alone, almost 70,000 Californians moved to Texas, but Potter said there historically has been movement back and forth between the two states.
Texas' relatively strong economy - think 8.5 percent unemployment here vs. 11.9 percent in California - gets most of the credit, he said.
September 22,2011
Broad spectrum of Abilenians lack health insurance, data show
Lloyd Potter, the state demographer of Texas, said the margins of error for the Census Bureau's data might mean the glaring increases aren't as significant as they first appear, but Abilene's population is large enough that the estimates from the Census Bureau should closely reflect reality.
Potter said the Abilene figures indicate that the number of uninsured has increased, especially after taking into consideration declining income and increasing poverty. The statistics released Thursday show one in five Abilenians were considered below poverty level in 2010, while one in six fell in that category in 2009.
"Frequently, if you see poverty going up, it's because people aren't working or aren't able to find work that allows them to move out of poverty," said Potter, who had not studied Abilene's data specifically. "I would think that's the driving factor in Abilene with the insurance rate."
August 23,2011
Bexar County births on decline
State demographer Lloyd Potter said that while a weak economy might cause some people to put off having babies, another factor might be the growing prosperity and education level of Hispanics.
"I would speculate that as Hispanics in Bexar County are becoming more educated and have higher incomes, that their birth rates would decline toward those of the Anglo population," Potter said.
August 11,2011
2010 Census Summary File 1 Released
Office of the State Demographer and Texas State Data Center Will Showcase Newly Released Local-Level Demographic Information from 2010 Census
August 09,2011
Population Growth Taxes Electric Grid
"In terms of numbers, that's more than any other state in the union," State Demographer Lloyd Potter told KUT News.
Potter says rapid population growth causes many short term demands on public infrastructure.
"Infrastructure takes a long time. Building a new power plant. Identifying enough water and getting it to the growth area in a timely fashion. Building freeways," he said. "Those are the kinds of things that you have to plan decades in advance."
July 16,2011
Proposed redistricting maps rile some Kyle residents
Among the reasons Hays County has experienced such a population spike are its commutable proximity to Austin and low living costs relative to the city, said Lloyd Potter , the state demographer.
However, because San Marcos is farther from Austin than Kyle and Buda, Potter speculated that its growth is more dependent on local moneymakers, such as Texas State University and the local tourism industry, rather than Austin's larger economy.
Because Kyle and Buda are more closely tied to Austin, Potter said he anticipates their populations will soon eclipse that of San Marcos, barring any shift in the city's economic base such as a high-tech company moving to town, which Potter said could be a "game-changer."
July 15,2011
Births Fuel Hispanic Growth
"As Texas goes, the nation is going," said Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter. "Hispanics are dispersing and growing in numbers across the United States. You see it in one state after the other."
Mr. Potter, the Texas state demographer, says the higher fertility among Hispanics is unlikely to last forever. "As the Hispanic population becomes more mainstream, fertility rates will decline," he said.
July 01,2011
Hispanics lead minority growth in Abilene
Lloyd Potter, state demographer of Texas and professor of demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the jump in Texas' population and the rise of diversity in the state could partially be attributed to net immigration from other states, notably California and Florida.
"We're seeing a large increase in net immigration from other states, and they're diverse," Potter said. "They are coming from all over the nation."
In 1980, white individuals made up 82 percent of Abilene's population. Today they compose 75.5 percent. Potter said the decreasing population rate among white residents could be attributed to immigration and a low white fertility rate.
In 2007 the total fertility rate for the non-Hispanic white population was 1.94 children on average, he said.
"When we look at fertility and mortality, or natural increase, the population increase of the Anglo population is not meeting its natural increase of 2.1 average children," Potter said.
June 26,2011
Asians in S.A. claim multiracial identity
San Antonio stands out from other U.S. and Texas cities in another way that may fuel more intermarriage among Asians, said Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter: It doesn't have an Asian enclave.
Dallas, Houston and many other cities have Asian residential and business areas. San Antonio's relatively small Asian population has to look out of its group for partners, Potter said. “It suggests that in San Antonio, if you're Asian, you're more likely to interact with someone who is not Asian,” he said, and more likely to intermarry.
Potter said the new data may reflect both the post-World War II and more current phenomena.
June 09,2011
Big Country is getting older, census finds. Number of Hispanics up in Big Country
The median age in Texas isn't rising as fast because of immigration, both from other states and internationally, said Lloyd Potter, state demographer.
"We're growing more rapidly than any other state," Potter said. The state added about 4.3 million people, more than any other state, since 2000, he said.
"We anticipate that sometime this decade there will be more persons of Hispanic descent in Texas than Anglo," Potter said.
May 26,2011
Texans gets a tad older in latest census figures
Baby boomers, as they are throughout the country, are making Texas older. But the median age isn't climbing as fast in Texas because of the scores of working-age newcomers who've migrated here over the last decade, said Lloyd Potter, the state demographer. The median age is the midpoint at which exactly half of the population is older and half is younger. "The fact that we have a lot of immigrants that tend to be toward the younger ages, that helps mediate the potential jump in the median age," Potter said.
May 26,2011
The city has more young, old
The number of older people is rising, thanks to baby boomers reaching retirement age; but the population of younger people is rising faster because of high fertility rates and immigration, according to Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
May 16,2011
Galveston mayor, other community leaders are determined to reverse city's population loss
By the 2000 decade, League City and other cities on the mainland were rapidly adding population but Galveston was not, Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter said. The city's population hovered near 57,000 from 2000 until Hurricane Ike and the stock market crash slammed the city within four days of each other. "For a city that size to lose over 15 percent of its population over a year, that's pretty significant," Potter said.
May 16,2011
Latino, Asian populations rise while fewer whites reside in California Share
"I think Texas would be relatively low on most Californians' paradise index," quipped Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter. About 44 percent of the 80,471 Californians who moved to Texas between 2006 and 2008 – when the recession took hold – are white, Potter said. Meanwhile, only 43,405 Texans, half of them white, moved to the California, Potter said.
May 09,2011
Researchers looking into San Antonio’s obesity problem
Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter will give the keynote address at the forum which takes place in the Palo Duro Pavillion at the Westin La Cantera Resort. Potter is a professor of demography and director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at UTSA
March 27,2011
More Deaths Than Births Killing US Counties Like Coleman, Texas
"Texas is in many ways two states," said Lloyd Potter, a demographer at the Texas Data Center. "When we look at the counties west of I-35, the bulk of them, probably 60 of them are losing population. It's becoming sparse in the west and that is going to become even more common."
March 24,2011
A more diverse, urban nation. Census Bureau reports Hispanic population grew 43% in a decade.
"I think it's going to be some time before we start seeing states like Ohio or Kentucky begin to look like Texas or California," said Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center and the state demographer. "But there's no question there are very sizeable Latino communities in states where 10 years ago, they were just barely there."
March 19,2011
Census shows decline in people saying they're of mixed races. Census shows decline of those who label themselves as racially mixed
While the actual number of people of mixed race on local, state and national levels could have indeed declined, state demographer Lloyd Potter said the more likely explanation for the decreased numbers is that fewer mixed-race people chose to identify themselves as such. "People's perception of their race changed over the decade," said Potter.
March 03,2011
San Marcos dealt population blow. Official census count is far below estimates, which could have financial impact.
Potter said the Texas State University population is a tough one to count. Students don't always receive mail at their residences, and many assume their parents counted them as members of their households in their own censuses, Potter said.
February 26,2011
Census numbers give Harlingen officials pause
State demographer Lloyd Potter said Valley communities often are undercounted in the U.S. Census. “It is conceivable that the count the Census came out with represents some degree of undercount,” he said. “The real number is probably somewhere in between, but probably closer to what the Census did,” referring to discrepancies between the state and federal counts.
February 26,2011
Crossroads region becoming older, more Hispanic
"It's being driven by natural increase. Persons of Hispanic descent are having kids," said Potter. "The Latino population rate is younger and has a lower mortality rate, which results in fairly higher increases among Latinos."
February 26,2011
PROGRESS: Redistricting concerns rural legislators
Lloyd Potter, the Texas state demographer, said the conflict between urban and rural has come to the forefront at redistricting meetings. The state Legislature will soon begin the process using information from the 2010 census. "There are more people leaving the country than are coming in," Potter said. Potter said young white people tend to leave the country, and young Hispanics are moving in, finding work in agriculture sectors.
February 17,2011
Austin area population increases by nearly half million, 2010 census data show
Austin area population increases by nearly half million, 2010 census data show
February 17,2011
Latino Numbers Soar in Texas, Promising More Political Clout
Latino Numbers Soar in Texas, Promising More Political Clout
February 17,2011
Population 'Tipping Point' in Texas, as Hispanics Get Closer to Parity With Whites
Population 'Tipping Point' in Texas, as Hispanics Get Closer to Parity With Whites
February 16,2011
Census Bureau Ships Local 2010 Census Data to Texas
Census Bureau ships local 2010 Census data to the governor and leadership of the state legislature in Texas
February 08,2011
Gaining Costs, Losing Time
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs released a report declaring an obesity crisis in Texas. Obesity projections were provided by the Office of State Demographer