College Station on cusp of reaching 100K population milestone

Whether a city wants to grow or remain small, reaching 100,000 inhabitants is a big deal.

College Station is on the brink, officials say.

The estimated June population was 98,721 and is expected to reach the 100,000 mark within weeks or months, city spokesman Jay Socol wrote in a recent blog post.

City officials estimate the number of inhabitants by how many certificates of occupancy the city's Planning and Development Services Department has issued, Socol said.

With some large multi-family housing developments nearing completion in the Northgate area near Texas A&M University, the magic number could be quite close.

"I started working on this piece back in March," Socol said of his July 8 blog post. "We've been on the cusp for a while."

Bob Cowell, the city's planning director, has estimated that College Station will reach 100,000 inhabitants in late summer or early fall, Socol said.

The city's population size includes some students from Texas A&M University but only those who declare College Station as their home when the decennial census is taken.

With the town approaching 100,000 residents, city officials have learned some of the fine points of population growth, he said.

One is that only the U.S. Census Bureau can determine official population. Cities are left to estimate the number of inhabitants, a hair-splitting distinction best left to demographers.

Another consideration, Socol noted, is that once a city reaches 100,000 population, candidates for city office must file lengthy personal financial statements that become public record.

"It's a pretty extensive amount of financial disclosure that not everybody would be comfortable with, but it's a fact of the matter," Socol said.

But that won't take effect until 2020, when the U.S. Census Bureau takes the next official population count, he said.

Sooner than that, the College Station City Council might take on the question of whether to extend its extra-territorial jurisdiction, which now measures 3.5 miles beyond the city limits.

As soon as the city reaches 100,000 inhabitants, the council could elect to extend its jurisdiction to five miles, but there's no requirement to do that, Socol said.