What readers need to know
The U.S. Census Bureau on Dec. 12 released new five-year data for 2023 as part of its American Community Survey, or ACS. The results show, among many shifts, Pearland, Friendswood and Manvel are continuing to grow and are also becoming more diverse.
The new data represents a five-year estimate of the population across the country from 2019 to 2023, according to the bureau website. This data compares with the 2018 survey results, which studied the country from 2014 to 2018.
The new data shows Manvel grew the most out of the three cities in terms of population percentage, increasing by nearly 41% from around 9,000 residents to nearly 13,000 total residents between 2019-23, according to the data. If taken back to the 2013 survey results, which measure population from 2009-13, Manvel has grown by nearly 125%.
Pearland saw an increase of around 8,000 residents over the past five years, representing a nearly 7% increase, according to the data. While the city still grew, growth slowed down compared to the change from the 2013 results to the 2018 results, which saw the city add nearly 24,000 people, representing a 25% increase.
From the 2013 results to the 2023 results, Pearland grew by nearly 32,000 people, or 34%, data shows.
Friendswood had the slowest growth of the bunch, increasing its population by about 1,500, or around 4%, from 2019-23, according to the data. Since the 2013 results, the city has added more than 4,000 residents, which amounts to a roughly 12% increase.
Pearland and Manvel also got older in terms of median age, while Friendswood got slightly younger compared to the survey results in 2018, according to the data. Friendswood still remains the oldest of the group in terms of median age.
Diving in deeper
Most of the area’s local school districts saw their populations increase as well, but one district, Alvin ISD, saw the population within its boundaries increase by 23% from 2019-23, according to the data. Since the 2013 results, that growth has amounted to 47%, with the district adding more than 44,000 people in that time.
Friendswood ISD grew in the past five years as well by more than 2,000 residents, amounting to a nearly 9% increase, data shows. Of the bunch, Pearland ISD declined in its population by about 200 people.
PISD and AISD also got older in their median age, while FISD got slightly younger. Despite these trends, FISD still had the oldest median range of the group, according to the data.
Along with a declining population, PISD saw the number of people 19 years old and younger decline from 2019-23, according to the data. Their percentage as a group of the total population also declined slightly.
FISD saw an increase in nearly 1,000 people age 19 and under, with their population up from 30.7% to 31.5% of the total population.
AISD saw its percentage of people 19 and under stay relatively flat, but its population growth meant the district added nearly 1,000 people in that age group from 2019-23, according to the data.
Also of note
In terms of demographics, Friendswood, Manvel and Pearland all saw the percentage of people who identified as white alone decrease, while the percentage of people who identified as two or more races increased.
For Pearland and Manvel, those who identified as white alone dipped below 50%, according to the data. Friendswood saw a dip as well, but 78% of its population still identified as white alone in the 2023 results, according to the data.
All three still saw a majority of people identify as white in at least some capacity, according to the data.
Pearland also saw the number of people who identified as Black or African American in some capacity stay steady, making up about 19% of the population in Pearland in both the 2018 and 2023 survey results.
Manvel saw its Black or African American population more than double from 2019-23, according to the data. Friendswood also saw an increase of residents who identified as such by around 900 residents, making up 6% of the population compared to 4% in the 2018 results.
Other trends include the Hispanic or Latino population, which varied between cities. While Pearland saw an increase in its Hispanic or Latino population of more than 6,000 people, marking a nearly 24% increase compared to survey results in 2018, Manvel saw a decline of more than 600 people who identified as Hispanic or Latino.
In the 2023 survey results, people identifying as Hispanic or Latino made up 25%—up from 22%—of Pearland’s population, whereas they made up 21%—down from 37%—of Manvel’s population
Friendswood’s Hispanic or Latino population stayed steady, coming in nearly identical to its 2018 survey numbers, which represents about 15% of the population, data shows.
