Midland was just under 95,000 a few days ago, now the sign says just over 100,000.

100,378 in Midland

Odessa is still showing ~90,900.

Curious if anyone elses town is showing any population growth.

Not in West Texas but College Station alone is estimated to have a population of 82,581 as of the end of May 2006 per the city of CS website. With Bryan added in the cities have surpassed 150,000 in population with the county close to 175,000. The growth does not look to slow anytime soon. Over $87 million in building permits have been issued this year in CS alone compared to about $66 million this time last year. New home permits are up 27% and new commercial permits are up 22%.

Do you have any numbers for Midland? I am curious since I grew up there and follow what is going on the best I can from Sugar Land. I hear they can not build homes fast enough. Glad to see things have improved since the oil bust of the 80's.

LoudestWhoop,

I would have to think that most of the cities and towns in West Texas are decreasing in population except for the likes of Midland, Odessa, Lubbock(if you want to include it in West Texas), El Paso and possibly Abilene and San Angelo. We drove through West Texas last year on our way to Taos in New Mexico and I hate to say it was pretty depressing to see the likes on Seminole and Brownfield and Big Spring. They really looked depressed and did not see much of a thriving community until we hit Roswell New Mexico. Granted we did not go through Midland or Lubbock but I know enough about those cities to know that they are growing.
Have you been through Monahans lately? I was born there and am curious how it is doing. I have a feeling probably not very good. We also lived in Hobbs for awhile but I have heard it is doing okay, especially since the Casinos have opened.
Would like to hear what you think about what is going on in West Texas. At one point growing up I thought I would live in Midland my whole life. I never wanted to live anywhere else but that has changed since living in CS and Sugar Land. I still have times that West Texas does pull at me though. There is something about the area that is hard to get out of your system!!

[This message has been edited by Ag2Max (edited 6/15/2006 10:11p).]

Ag2Max,
I couldn't find any numbers in a quick search, but the building is continuous. Building houses between the cities of Midland and Odessa will make them one in a few years. Midland and Lubbock are both growing pretty quickly.

Found an article in Houston's paper actually that talks about whats going on:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3958638.html

BTW, we apparently switched places. I grew up in Katy and moved out West 6 Months after graduating in 1989. We just came back from a visit to Katy/Houston and I will keep Midland traffic! The Houston Downtown is really nice now with Minute Maid and Toyota down there. My wife was at the G.Brown Convention Center and I had a chance to walk around.

Great find Loudest. Thanks for the link.

I drive through Monahans every day (I live in Odessa but work in Pecos). Not sure how Monahans use to be, but of all the small towns in the area - Pecos, Monahans, Seminole, Andrews, Wink, Ft Stockton ect - I'd say Monahans is doing better then most. However, from talking to a few people in the area they say that just like every other town here in the area it is going down hill. Midland and Odessa are doing great, partially because of the oil boom I guess.

I go into town at least once or twice a month to grab a bite to eat or get gas, and actually even looked at getting an apartment in Monahans instead of Odessa (there was no way I'd live in Pecos - by far one of the sadest, most run down towns I have ever been in).

I agree - West Texas has something that just draws you into it. For me it is just how wide open and empty it is. The nights are great out here too. Not sure if I want to spend the rest of my life here, but I sure don't mind it for the time being.

Ag2max
Sorry you were disappointed in Big Spring. We are growing, but with retirees, oil field workers, manufacturing and prison support staff. We are one of the hot spots for the california retirees. We are experiencing a housing boom, in the resale market, because there are not many high end homes. People watch the public records for divorces and look up addresses. In our market, a high end home is 300k. I worked in Pecos for about 6 years on the onion ring plant. It is a nice town after you get to know some people. I would live in Pecos before I would even think about Monahans. It also puts you closer to Big Bend and the Davis Mountains.

[This message has been edited by fuzzyfan (edited 6/20/2006 1:06a).]

After visiting Andrews a better question might be “what percentage of your population speaks English?”





Andrews was a great place to grow up. What the hell happened? My grandmother’s old neighborhood looks like a dayworker’s gathering.

Midland is booming right now. Obviously due to the Oil and Gas business. However, it is not a good time to move out here due the high price of housing. Alot of construction going on and the prices are incredible (around $120/sqft). Great time to sell if you were planning to leave Midland anytime soon. My neighbor across the street was ready to move to Florida. Bought his house three years ago for $90,000. Nice 3/2/2 home in old Midland. He recently put his house on the market "For Sale by Owner". Sold it in three days for $172,000.
We are getting alot of new business' over the last few years. Chain restaurants are moving in fast, Academy, Khoels, New Drive-In movie theater, etc. etc. Lot's of new fun things to do. People from all over, Odessa, Kermit, Lamesa, Big Spring, and many other small towns are coming in every weekend to spend money on shopping and entertainment.
I've been here since 1989 and I've never seen anything like it.

The best thing about Midland is the People. West Texans are the best!

Just saw the new Odessa Population sign: 96,948
Up from just under 91,000.