• county
  • FIPS 48209
  • Largest town: San Marcos

Hays County, Texas

Hays County had 292,029 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 676.9 square miles of land. It ranks 19th of 254 in Texas by population and 220th by land area.

Population
292,029
#19 of 254 in Texas · #251 in US
Area
676.9 sq mi
#220 of 254 in Texas · #1,386 in US
Density
431 / sq mi
#17 of 254 in Texas · #322 in US
Median household income
$88,491
#20 of 254 in Texas · #266 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Hays County within Texas. Pin: Austin.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Hays County

Hays County population, land area and income

Hays County had 292,029 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 676.9 square miles of land. It ranks 19th of 254 in Texas by population and 220th by land area. That works out to 431.5 people per square mile, 4.5 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Texas has 19,267 residents, so Hays County is 15.2 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $88,491 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

292,029

3144th1st

251st of 3,144 (US)

Land area

677 sq mi

3144th1st

1386th of 3,144 (US)

Density

431.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

322nd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$88,491

3143rd1st

266th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Texas (254)

Population

292,029

254th1st

19th of 254 (TX)

Land area

677 sq mi

254th1st

220th of 254 (TX)

Density

431.5 / sq mi

254th1st

17th of 254 (TX)

Median household income

$88,491

254th1st

20th of 254 (TX)

How Hays County's population changed since 2020

Hays County gained 48,041 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 19.7%. That ranks 7th of 254 in Texas for growth. The median Texas county changed by +2.1%, and the state as a whole by +7.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Hays County recorded 13,027 births and 6,634 deaths, a natural change of +6,393. Net international migration added +3,274 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +41,154. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 41,154 people.

244.0k2020256.0k2021269.5k2022281.7k2023292.0k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
13,027
Deaths
6,634
Net international migration
+3,274
Net domestic migration
+41,154
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+10,332

Where Hays County is

The Census internal point of Hays County is at 30.061200, -98.029300. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Texas's 254 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Hays County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Cass County: +0.6%Jackson County: +1.9%Lipscomb County: -5.2%Hall County: +1.0%Hemphill County: -6.9%Kent County: -7.4%Dallam County: +5.4%Bandera County: +8.7%Culberson County: +3.1%Howard County: -11.4%Lavaca County: +1.2%Zavala County: -4.7%Taylor County: +3.7%Ellis County: +19.6%McLennan County: +3.5%Parker County: +20.2%Kinney County: +2.1%Uvalde County: +2.3%Haskell County: -0.0%Coke County: +2.3%Dickens County: -2.0%Colorado County: +4.0%Hansford County: -4.7%Collingsworth County: -1.2%Comanche County: +5.4%Crosby County: -1.3%Andrews County: +1.6%Atascosa County: +7.1%Brooks County: -5.0%Burnet County: +12.6%La Salle County: +0.4%Terry County: -1.6%Throckmorton County: +5.6%Yoakum County: -1.2%Hockley County: +0.0%Rockwall County: +25.5%Schleicher County: -5.8%Swisher County: -1.0%Motley County: -4.6%Hale County: -1.6%King County: -19.5%Hays County: +19.7%Irion County: +0.9%Bastrop County: +17.2%Blanco County: +16.6%Kimble County: +2.5%Dawson County: -5.7%Loving County: -28.4%Scurry County: -4.2%Sterling County: +0.2%Garza County: -20.1%Shackelford County: +1.9%Stonewall County: -0.8%Titus County: +0.8%Hopkins County: +5.3%Callahan County: +6.3%Childress County: +0.3%Lubbock County: +5.1%Dimmit County: -4.7%Donley County: -2.7%Baylor County: +2.1%Johnson County: +16.4%Glasscock County: +3.2%Sutton County: -2.6%Runnels County: -1.7%Ector County: +2.7%Kaufman County: +34.4%Jack County: +10.7%Mitchell County: -0.5%Falls County: +4.7%Castro County: +0.6%Palo Pinto County: +6.3%Limestone County: +1.9%Kerr County: +2.3%Franklin County: +5.2%Roberts County: +1.7%Young County: +2.2%Erath County: +4.2%Cochran County: +0.7%Hutchinson County: -4.2%Floyd County: -6.2%Mason County: +0.5%Parmer County: -1.9%Eastland County: +2.8%McMullen County: -5.4%Randall County: +6.5%Armstrong County: -2.3%Hamilton County: +4.8%Hartley County: -6.4%Nolan County: -3.7%Lynn County: +6.2%Menard County: -2.5%Karnes County: +2.2%Cottle County: -7.4%Winkler County: -4.8%Jeff Davis County: -10.4%Stephens County: +4.2%Bell County: +7.3%Borden County: -13.2%Madison County: +3.1%Fisher County: -0.3%Camp County: +5.9%Gillespie County: +5.2%Liberty County: +24.4%Upton County: -5.3%Waller County: +13.7%Fort Bend County: +15.6%Montgomery County: +19.9%Crockett County: -9.5%Sherman County: -0.7%Rusk County: +2.2%Wichita County: +0.3%Moore County: +2.8%Pecos County: -3.1%Webb County: +2.0%Kleberg County: -1.8%Fayette County: +4.0%Aransas County: +6.9%Presidio County: -6.9%Archer County: +7.0%Cherokee County: +5.2%Galveston County: +4.5%Comal County: +23.2%Concho County: +0.3%Jim Hogg County: -5.4%DeWitt County: +2.1%Brewster County: -0.6%Tarrant County: +5.4%Caldwell County: +14.1%Hardin County: +4.1%Fannin County: +7.4%Guadalupe County: +12.4%Clay County: +4.6%Coryell County: +3.9%Medina County: +8.9%Potter County: -3.1%Brown County: +1.5%Marion County: -1.7%Denton County: +14.3%Bee County: +0.6%Wise County: +17.9%Leon County: +5.8%Zapata County: -0.4%Coleman County: +4.0%Reagan County: -8.3%Mills County: +2.5%Reeves County: -19.0%Live Oak County: +5.5%Gaines County: +5.5%Oldham County: +3.4%Trinity County: +6.2%Williamson County: +18.2%San Saba County: -3.8%Wilson County: +10.7%Van Zandt County: +9.3%Lamar County: +2.2%Willacy County: -0.6%Brazos County: +6.4%Llano County: +8.7%Refugio County: -0.0%Martin County: -1.6%Midland County: +7.5%Wilbarger County: -3.0%Briscoe County: +5.1%Gonzales County: +1.8%Kenedy County: -5.7%Cameron County: +2.4%Gregg County: +1.9%Hidalgo County: +4.8%Hunt County: +18.4%Jefferson County: -0.9%Delta County: +8.1%Harris County: +5.8%Carson County: +0.5%Hill County: +7.8%Shelby County: +0.6%Hood County: +11.4%Grayson County: +10.6%Walker County: +9.4%McCulloch County: -1.8%Orange County: +1.6%Lee County: +5.4%Houston County: +0.6%San Jacinto County: +6.5%Robertson County: +5.3%Real County: +0.8%Red River County: +1.2%Sabine County: +1.7%Starr County: +1.1%Lamb County: -2.5%Goliad County: +2.8%El Paso County: +1.0%Wharton County: +1.1%Wheeler County: -3.1%Bexar County: +5.6%Lampasas County: +8.5%Calhoun County: -0.6%Maverick County: +1.7%Henderson County: +6.1%Freestone County: +6.2%Hardeman County: -4.0%Tom Green County: -0.1%Tyler County: +3.7%Chambers County: +19.5%Morris County: +1.8%Burleson County: +14.1%Newton County: -2.1%Upshur County: +7.3%Deaf Smith County: -0.2%Edwards County: -2.6%Bosque County: +4.2%Bowie County: -1.0%Matagorda County: +0.3%Terrell County: -4.3%Knox County: -2.9%Milam County: +5.6%Bailey County: +2.4%Nueces County: -0.1%Victoria County: +0.7%Dallas County: +1.7%Jones County: +5.9%Angelina County: +1.8%Washington County: +5.6%Gray County: -1.4%Grimes County: +13.6%Ochiltree County: -2.4%San Patricio County: +3.8%Val Verde County: +0.8%Foard County: -3.4%Frio County: +6.0%Kendall County: +16.3%Somervell County: +9.7%Panola County: +2.3%Nacogdoches County: +1.7%Ward County: -5.5%Wood County: +8.2%Montague County: +9.2%Duval County: -2.3%Navarro County: +6.9%Anderson County: +2.7%Jim Wells County: -0.0%Cooke County: +6.0%Rains County: +9.3%Austin County: +8.0%Brazoria County: +10.6%Polk County: +7.4%Travis County: +5.2%Collin County: +16.6%San Augustine County: -2.0%Harrison County: +3.7%Smith County: +6.4%Hudspeth County: +13.0%Crane County: -1.7%Jasper County: -0.0%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.0%
  2. < +0.8%
  3. < +3.7%
  4. < +6.9%
  5. ≥ +6.9%
no data

Orange pin: Hays County internal point. Dark pin: Austin.

Internal point

Decimal
30.061200, -98.029300
DMS
30°03'40.32"N 98°01'45.48"W
UTM
14N 593566.5E 3325963.9N
Geohash
9v67123pp
Plus code
86233X6C+F7

Towns in Hays County

8 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Hays County, 173,473 people together, or 59% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Hays County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is San Marcos with 74,316.

  1. 01San Marcos74,316
  2. 02Kyle65,833
  3. 03Buda16,090
  4. 04Dripping Springs10,165
  5. 05Wimberley2,889
  6. 06Woodcreek1,886
  7. 07Uhland (part)1,227
  8. 08Austin (part)1,067
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Hays County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Hays County. The most populous is Travis County, TX, with 1,363,767 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Austin and the nearest big city

Austin is 22.7 miles NE of Hays County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Austin, TX (population 993,588), 23.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Kyle, TX (population 65,833), 9.9 miles away.

Hays County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Hays County is 48209: state code 48 for Texas plus county code 209. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $88,491.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Hays County, Texas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 292,029. That is up 48,041 people (19.7%) from the July 2020 estimate of 243,988.

What is the FIPS code of Hays County?

48209. The first two digits (48) are Texas; the last three (209) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Hays County?

San Marcos, with 74,316 residents inside Hays County in 2024.

Which counties border Hays County?

5 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Travis County, TX; Comal County, TX; Guadalupe County, TX; Caldwell County, TX; Blanco County, TX.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.