Anna: A Century of Growth
From a railroad stop of a few hundred people to one of America’s fastest-growing cities — a century of population told through the census.
Anna, Texas — population by census
A near-flat line for seventy years, then a hockey-stick climb.
Census counts from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Texas State Historical Association; mid-century counts (1940s–1970s) stayed in the hundreds. The 2020 count is 16,896 (NCTCOG; the Census “place” figure is 17,616). The 2025 figure of 35,245 is a U.S. Census Bureau estimate, and 100,000 is the target set in the Anna 2050 Comprehensive Plan.
In order · start → finish6 stages · a cinematic, phase-by-phase walkthrough
Anna began as a stop on the line.
The town was platted in 1883 after the Houston & Texas Central Railway came through, and its 1885 depot is the oldest surviving railroad station in Texas. Anna formally incorporated in 1913 with John F. Greer as its first mayor.
Every great city starts somewhere small — Anna started at the depot.
Rooted, origin-story
For seventy years, Anna held steady.
The 1930 census recorded 538 residents. Seven decades later, in 2000, the count was still just 1,225. For most of the 20th century Anna was a small farming community that changed very little.
A whole century of patience set the stage for what came next.
Steady, reflective
Then the map caught up with Anna.
Between 2000 and 2010 the population jumped from 1,225 to 8,249 — a 573% increase in a single decade — as the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex expanded north up the U.S. 75 corridor.
Growth did not creep in — it arrived all at once.
Pivotal, electric
One of the fastest-growing cities in America.
The 2020 census recorded 16,896 residents — roughly double the 2010 count, an 82% increase in ten years. Anna was now regularly named among the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
The boom was not a fluke — it repeated.
Confident, accelerating
The growth becomes a skyline.
By July 2025 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 35,245 residents — a 10.2% jump in a single year. New rooftops brought Kroger, the Rosamond Town Center, and a wave of road projects racing to keep pace.
Population growth is now visible on the ground, every day.
Momentous, tangible
From a railroad stop to a city of 100,000.
The Anna 2050 Comprehensive Plan plans for a city of 100,000 residents by 2050 — guiding land use, infrastructure, and capital projects so the next surge of growth is deliberate rather than accidental.
The century of growth is not history — it is a plan still being written.
Visionary, resolute
This is an illustrative Slidersss built from public reporting and publicly available city records. Every figure is drawn from those sources — nothing is invented. It is a storytelling demonstration, not an official communication of any government, business, or organization.
Sourced from public reporting including U.S. Census Bureau, Texas State Historical Association, City of Anna, NCTCOG.
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