What will the future of Texas be? Will its population continue to 
increase, and if so how rapidly and where will this growth be most 
extensive? Will its wealth increase with its population, or will per 
capita levels of income and wealth decrease? What are the 
opportunities and challenges state government  is likely to face in 
the first decades of the twenty-first century?

    A team led by State Demographer Steve H. Murdock examines 
these questions using new figures gathered in the decennial 
national census of 2000. From their analysis they are able to 
examine the effects of four major demographic trends that continue 
markedly to affect Texas and other parts of the nation. The New 
Texas Challenge explores:

•  changes in the rates and sources of population growth
•  the aging and age structure of the population 
•  growth in the non-Anglo population
•  the changing composition of Texas households

    The intent is both to provide an overview of how far Texas has 
come and to suggest where it may be going under conditions 
prevailing in the first years of this century.

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STEVE H. MURDOCK is the official state demographer of Texas and
the director of the Institute for Demographics and Socioeconomics 
Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.