Millennial magnet

San Antonio sees huge surge in millennial population

San Antonio downtown skyline skyscrapers

San Antonio saw a massive spike in millennials from 2010-2015.

City of San Antonio - Municipal Government/Facebook

The San Antonio metro area — and Texas in general — saw some of the biggest millennial migrations in the country from 2010 to 2015, according to a new report.

Published by the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research group, the report shows the San Antonio area experienced a 14.4 percent spike in its millennial population (age 18 to 34) from 2010 to 2015. On a percentage basis, that was the second highest increase during that period among the country’s 100 largest metro areas.

At No. 6 on that list is the Austin area, which witnessed a 11.8 percent jump in its millennial population from 2010 to 2015, the report says.

From a numeric standpoint, the San Antonio area gained the fifth most Hispanic millennials — 45,663 — from 2010 to 2015. Houston stood in fourth place in that category, with an influx of 48,875 Hispanic millennials from 2010 to 2015.

Here are some other statistics from the report for Texas’ major metro areas:

In 2015, Austin had the second highest share of millennials (27.2 percent) among the country’s 100 largest metro areas.
Austin has among the lowest percentage older millennials living in poverty (11 percent).
Dallas-Fort Worth had the sixth highest number of white millennials (720,776) in 2015.
Houston ranked first for the total number of white millennials gained (46,785) from 2010 to 2015, and DFW ranked second (31,965).
Houston had the seventh largest number of black millennials (300,845) in 2015.
Houston had the third largest number of Hispanic millennials (665,537) in 2015, with DFW in seventh place (553,216).
Houston experienced the fourth largest influx of Asian millennials (29,759) from 2010 to 2015, and DFW stood in sixth place (27,314).

Texas is one of 10 states where racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half of the millennial population, the report says. These are the racial and ethnic breakdowns for millennials in Texas’ four largest metro areas.

Austin

Asian millennials — 6.3 percent
Black millennials — 7.3 percent
Hispanic millennials — 35.3 percent
White millennials — 48.9 percent

Dallas-Fort Worth

Asian millennials — 7.1 percent
Black millennials — 16.5 percent
Hispanic millennials — 32.3 percent
White millennials — 42 percent

Houston

Asian millennials — 7.9 percent
Black millennials — 18.2 percent
Hispanic millennials — 18.7 percent
White millennials — 32.1 percent

San Antonio

Asian millennials — 2.9 percent
Black millennials — 7.1 percent
Hispanic millennials — 58.5 percent
White millennials — 29.7 percent

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share the road

Texas is one of the worst places in the nation to ride a bike

Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in San Antonio, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around San Antonio, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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