HAYS COUNTY (KXAN) — It’s no secret Central Texas is growing, but new population estimates show the area’s growth is outpacing most of the country.  The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan area is ranked the third fastest-growing metro area in the U.S. just behind The Villages, near Orlando, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Hays County has surged to the top of the list of fastest-growing counties in Texas and the fifth-fastest in the country. It’s hard not to notice all the construction along Interstate 35 and within Buda, Kyle and other areas of Hays County.

The Hays Consolidated Independent School District is also aware of the growth and constantly monitoring what’s going on in the county. Officials said they are regularly coordinating with the county and different cities because of the roads, water and infrastructure needs.

“The growth over the last decade to a decade in a half has really impacted the district and we’re seeing it,” said Tim Savoy, spokesperson for Hays CISD. “There area growing pains you have to keep up with the growth because the infrastructure and your facilities have to keep up and so you’re doing bonds and you’re doing schools, but that’s a good problem to have because the opposite would be that you’re having to close schools because you don’t have the student’s there.”

Hays CISD hired an outside firm to forecast the size of the district over the next 10 years. The district expects to have 20,243 students by 2017 compared to the 17,974 kids it has currently. In five years the district will grow by about 3,807 students, and in 10 years they estimate that will have 8,069 more students.

“It wasn’t long ago, probably 10 years ago, we were still a rural smaller district,” said Savoy. “I know that a big factor for parents moving is that they look at the school districts and we’re proud of our schools and we know that we have people who move in here because they love our schools and programming.”

Savoy said they’re in the middle of implementing a 2014 bond which includes building the district’s sixth middle school. As soon as Monday, the school board will discuss having a third high school and talk about putting together a citizen committee to begin discussing where to put the building.

“That’s a milestone when you go from a small district to having your second high school and then the next milestone on your third high school,” said Savoy. “Then I think you can say you’ve officially sort of arrived at being in the big school districts status.”

“As a parent, I’m excited to see the school district too is on top of it, planning for it and we’re really excited to just be rooted here in Buda,” said Christina Courson who works for Hays CISD but lives in Round Rock. She is currently building a home with her two kids in Buda so she doesn’t have to commute as far.

“I feel like I get to have my cake and eat it too. I’m close to Austin and everything that that city offers,” Courson said about Buda and Hays County. “It’s kind of this hidden jewel. I think Buda is a beautiful place to live, but I guess there are a lot of people who found the same secret as I did and I guess it’s not so much of a secret. But I can’t blame them, I’m moving here for the same reasons.”

New data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 1,943,299 people live in the Central Texas counties of Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson.

The Austin – Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area grew 3.0 percent in 2014 compared to 2013 and ranked behind The Villages, Fla. at 3.2 percent and Myrtle Beach at 3.2 percent in the same time frame.