The city of Fulshear is fast growing, and residents not only welcome it but are diligently planning to accommodate the incoming population, according to demographic firm Population and Survey Analysts, which presented the most recent data related to the Fulshear population at the April 16 Fulshear City Council meeting.

Among demographic characteristics for 2017, council and community members were surprised to hear 64.2% of residents who are 25 years old or older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and that the mean travel time to work is 40 minutes.

“It means that people are willing to spend those 40 minutes commuting,” PASA presenter Justin Silhavy said. “These numbers have been creeping up, and it means that traffic is not stopping them. People want to live here.”

In the next 10 years, Silhavy projected huge growth, including over 3,200 lots or homes to be occupied east of FM 359, 914 in Fulshear Lakes, 632 in Polo Ranch and 799 in Fulbrook at Fulshear Creek.

The number of projected new housing occupancies by October 2028 is 23,063, and Silhavy said many of these homes will include students, which is approximately 25% of the city of Fulshear population.

Questions from council members included whether developers are focusing on more affordable housing for families in the community that includes college graduates with high loan debts.

Silhavy said in general, developers do want more affordable housing and discussed trends he has noticed among younger generations.

“The millennial population is having children much later, and that’s across all the demographics,” Silhavy said. “But with the population that we have, we have an increase in millennials moving back with mom and dad while they pay off loans.”