Once-rural Watauga packs the people in

By Aman Batheja

abatheja@star-telegram.com

Belinda Biggers remembers moving to Watauga in 1982. She had decided to leave the south side of Fort Worth for a more peaceful life for her and her family.

"It was just countryside all around," Biggers recalled. "Rufe Snow [Drive] was just a dirt road."

The open spaces didn't last long. Biggers said development picked up in 1984 and seemed to never stop. With more than 23,000 residents in just over 4 square miles, Watauga is now the densest city in Tarrant County. Only 5 percent of its land is undeveloped, and officials expect it to grow by about 500 people before being built out.

The growth has been welcomed by residents like Biggers, who said Watauga has the accessibility of a city but has maintained the easy existence of a more rural area.

"It's very neighborly," Biggers said. "We all look out for each other."

According to the 2010 Census, Watauga grew by 7.3 percent since 2000. Though about 8 in 10 residents are white, the city's minority population has grown significantly since 2000. Its Hispanic population doubled. Its African-American population grew from 498 to 1,387.

An estimated 80 percent of Watauga households own their homes, according to the 2009 American Community Survey.

The median mortgage payment was $1,255 in 2009, among the lowest in Tarrant County. Part of the explanation might be the city's housing stock, which is older than that of many other cities.

Less than 1 percent of the city's housing units were built in 2005 or later. Three-fourths were built by 1989 -- typically, single-family, three-bedroom homes. Nearly every other city in the county has a higher percentage of new housing.

Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695

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