Austin Map
Austin is the seat of Texas government and, after Phoenix, the largest state capital in the country, with about 994,000 residents in 2024 on the banks of the Colorado River.
Where is Austin?
Austin lies in south-central Texas, on the line where the Hill Country meets the coastal plain. The western half of the city climbs into limestone hills; the eastern half runs out onto flat blackland prairie. It is about 80 miles northeast of San Antonio, roughly 165 miles west of Houston, and some 195 miles south of Dallas.
Austin at a glance
| State | Texas |
| Counties | Bastrop, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties |
| Population | 993,588 (2024 Census estimate) |
| Rank among US cities | No. 13 of the 100 largest |
| Time zone | Central Time |
| Region | South (West South Central division) |
Another 3,780 residents would lift Austin past San Jose into No. 12; 50,112 fewer would put it behind Charlotte at No. 14. Within Texas it comes fifth of fourteen, behind four others, from Houston down to Fort Worth. Against Texas's 31.29 million residents, though, that is only about 3.2%. It reaches into four counties, of which Travis County is much the largest: the city holds about 73% of that county's 1,363,767 people.
Austin in Texas
Austin is the state capital and the seat of Travis County, with city limits reaching into Bastrop, Hays and Williamson counties as well — see the Texas county map. Unusually for a big Texas city it is hemmed in on the west by terrain rather than open to annexation in every direction, which is why so much of its growth has gone north up the I-35 corridor instead. The Texas state page and the US map with capitals both place it.
The Colorado River and the Highland Lakes
This is the Texas Colorado River — a separate stream from the one that carved the Grand Canyon, rising on the Llano Estacado and reaching the Gulf on its own. A chain of dams upstream of Austin holds the Highland Lakes, built for flood control on a river with a violent flash-flood record; the lowest of the chain, Lake Austin, ends at Tom Miller Dam inside the city, and below that Longhorn Dam holds Lady Bird Lake at a constant level through the middle of town. The Balcones Escarpment crosses the city from southwest to northeast; springs along it, including Barton Springs, are fed by the Edwards Aquifer.
Cities near Austin
The nearest large cities are San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Corpus Christi. To test yourself on state capitals, try the capitals quiz.