Fulshear, Texas, is the fastest-growing small town in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates Program. This rural town, on the edge of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area, has seen a population boom in recent years, growing more than tenfold in size between 2010 to 2020, from 1,170 to over 17,000 residents.
Fulshear’s median annual household income today is more than $162,000, about three times the median income of $53,600 in the Houston metro area. The town has become home to many wealthy and affluent families, with 33.8% of households earning over $200,000 a year.
Similar population growth is happening not just in Fulshear, but in small towns across the country. The majority of the 50 fastest-growing towns are in the South, including 21 in Texas alone.
The oil industry has been a driving force behind some of this growth as it provides employment opportunities. In addition, the general trend nationwide of moving to Sun Belt states is also adding to growth in small towns.