McAllen falls in U.S. Census Bureau rankings

McALLEN - The city has slipped to 40 on the U.S. Census Bureau's annual list of the nation's fastest growing cities with populations over 100,000.

New Orleans, still on the mend from the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was No. 1 on the list.

Three Texas cities ranked within the top 10: McKinney - near Dallas - at No. 3; Killeen - near Austin - at No. 6; and Denton - also near Dallas - at No. 10.

McAllen registered a growth rate of 2.3 percent between July 2006 and July 2007.

The city scored a slightly higher ranking - 37 - on the U.S. Census Bureau's list of fastest growing cities between April 2000 and July 2007 with a cumulative growth rate of 19.5 percent.

"A 19.5-percent growth rate is pretty healthy growth," said Gary Livingston, an economics instructor at South Texas College. "(Ranking) 37th is certainly not anything to worry about ... when you compare it to places - what you call the Rust Belt - that are actually losing population," he said, referring to portions of the Northeast, Middle Atlantic and upper Midwest states.

On the other hand, "there may be other areas that have had more explosive growth than we've had in the past five or six years," which has contributed to McAllen's fall from No. 3 in 1990s' rankings, said Steve Ahlenius, president and chief executive officer of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

"(The rank) doesn't have any impact at all because you're still looking at jobs being created, people moving here and the birth rate," he said. "(McAllen) is still relatively young compared to the rest of the country."

While other parts of the country have an average of 35 or 36, Ahlenius said, McAllen's median age of residents is 30.5, according to 2000 U.S. Census data.

 "I think it's fairly obvious that (McAllen) is attractive to new businesses," Livingston said. "The unemployment rate has come way down over the years ... and that has to do with new businesses coming here."

However, Livingston said that McAllen's unemployment rate might increase with the nationwide economic slowdown, "but this is something that's going on all over the country.

"When things pick up, I think McAllen is certainly in a good position to start the growth again," he said, partially attributing McAllen's continued growth to the area's climate.

"One of the steady parts of the Valley's economy is the Winter Texans and tourism industry," Livingston said. "I think we can accommodate all of them, but the problem there might be the price of gasoline," he said, adding that some Winter Texans might not be willing to use the gas to drive to the Valley next fall, but that the tourism and Winter Texan industry is "usually solid."

Ahlenius said that he's not worried about any decreases in funding any time soon.

And with all of the city's current growth, there's a large demand for infrastructure and thus, an increase in tax revenues, Livingston said.

Livingston also attributes McAllen's growth to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as many businesses have moved to the Valley due to its proximity to Mexico.

"It's a very seamless community, in terms of a lot of people commuting and moving back and forth between different communities," Ahlenius said.

"Whether you go west, east, south or north, we're growing," said Alberto Suarez, who has lived in McAllen since 1959. "I think the whole Valley is the best city. It's clean and well-managed."

Echoing Suarez's sentiments, the Rev. Alfonso Guevara of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in McAllen and a Valley Interfaith leader (did not specify what kind of leader), said that communities throughout the Valley and Mexico are interdependent.

Because of this interdependence, Guevara said he believes that the Valley cannot afford to be "myopic."

With the projected spike in the impoverished and Hispanic populations in the near future, Guevara asked: "Do we have the right educational infrastructures? ... Are we investing in jobs that deal with the competitive international, global markets?

"We can panic and say, ‘Well, the sky is falling,' or we can be serious about it and look at it," he said.

____

Lynnea Olivarez covers general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4422.