Daniel Guerrero

San Marcos is the fastest-growing large city in the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau announced May 23.

From July 2011 to July 2012, the city's estimated population swelled to 50,001, an increase of 4.9 percent, the Census Bureau reported.

Mayor Daniel Guerrero said the announcement provided a "mathematical indication" for a trend that San Marcos officials had already observed.

"I don't think this growth was unanticipated," Guerrero said. "If you look at the trends over the last 10 to 15 years, everything was always going in this direction, and we're trying to make sure we're keeping up with appropriate investments to prepare for that growth."

Eight of the 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of at least 50,000 people were in Texas, the Census Bureau reported. Georgetown was the seventh-fastest growing city, with its population reaching 52,303.

Austin and San Antonio were among the cities that added the most people during the same period.

While San Marcos prepares for continued population increases, Guerrero said that city leaders are committed to maintaining the city's character and heritage while enhancing residents' quality of life through infrastructure projects and other improvements.

"We're just pleased that folks are seeing San Marcos as a great place to grow their families and build their businesses and really set down roots," Guerrero said.

He noted that in 2010, BusinessWeek magazine named San Marcos one of the best cities in the nation to raise a family.

San Marcos is home to Texas State University and the San Marcos River and is centrally located between the fast-growing Austin and San Antonio metro areas, he added.

"You have access to commerce, access to entertainment, access to tourism," Guerrero said. "There's a multitude of different places you can access from this one center of the universe."