EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EST, MARCH 11, 1999 (THURSDAY)
Public Information Office CB99-50
301-457-3030/301-457-3760 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov
David Rain/Marc Perry
301-457-2419
Fastest-Growing Counties Are Southern, Western and
Predominantly Metropolitan, Census Bureau Reports
The nation's fastest-growing counties were in or near metropolitan
areas of the South and West, according to 1998 population
estimates for all 3,142 counties released on the Internet today by the
Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
Of the nation's 2,426 counties with at least 10,000 people in 1998,
four of the top 10 fastest- growing were in Georgia, two each were in
Colorado and Texas, and one each was in Nevada and Virginia.
Forsyth County, part of the Atlanta, Ga., Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA), was the fastest- growing county with a population of at least
10,000. The county's population increased by 13.0 percent from 1997 to
1998 and by 95.4 percent since 1990. Nearby Henry and Paulding counties,
located in the same MSA, and Dawson County, just outside the Atlanta, Ga.,
MSA, ranked fourth, sixth and seventh respectively, between 1997 and 1998.
Douglas County, south of Denver and part of the Denver-Boulder-Greeley,
Colo. Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA), ranked second,
growing by 11.2 percent between 1997 and 1998. From 1990 to 1998, Douglas
was the fastest growing county in the nation, up by 133.4 percent. Elbert
County, neighboring both the Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colo., CMSA and the
Colorado Springs, Colo., MSA, ranked eighth between 1997 and 1998.
Two Texas counties Collin, in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas CMSA, and
Williamson, north of Austin in the Austin-San Marcos, Texas MSA ranked
fifth and ninth, respectively. Loudoun County, Va., in the
Washington-Baltimore, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W. Va., CMSA was third. And Nye County,
Nev., in the Las Vegas, Nev.-Ariz., MSA, ranked 10th.
"It really is no accident that all 10 of the counties that grew the
fastest from 1997 to 1998 were in or near metropolitan areas," said David
Rain, Census Bureau geographer. "Growth may be concentrated regionally in
the South and West, but more specifically, it's occurring in counties
around large cities such as Atlanta and Denver."
The rapid population growth in all 10 counties was due to high amounts
of net domestic migration. Douglas County, Colo., and Williamson County,
Texas, each had net domestic migration of more than 10,000 people last
year. Collin County, Texas, had net domestic migration of more than 20,000
people.
Ten Fastest-Growing Counties in the United States
with 10,000 or More Persons in 1998
Rank County State Percent Increase: 1997-98
1 Forsyth Ga. 13.0
2 Douglas Colo. 11.2
3 Loudoun Va. 8.2
4 Henry Ga. 7.2
5 Collin Texas 6.9
6 Paulding Ga. 6.9
7 Dawson Ga. 6.5
8 Elbert Colo. 6.5
9 Williamson Texas 6.2
10 Nye Nev. 6.1
The 10 counties with the largest gains in the number of people between
1997 and 1998 were all in Southern and Western metropolitan areas. Four
were in California (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside); three
were in Texas (Harris, Dallas and Tarrant); and one each was in Arizona
(Maricopa), Nevada (Clark) and Florida (Broward).
Los Angeles County was the largest gainer, with an increase of
97,027 people. Eight of the 10 counties (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego,
Riverside, Harris, Maricopa, Clark and Broward) also were among the top
10 gainers between 1990 and 1998.
Maricopa County, in the Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. MSA, had the largest gain
between 1990 and 1998, with an increase of 661,974 people.
Ten Biggest Numeric Gainers in Population -- 1997 to 1998
Rank County State Number Increase
1 Los Angeles Calif. 97,027
2 Maricopa Ariz. 84,977
3 Orange Calif. 58,140
4 San Diego Calif. 56,881
5 Clark Nev. 55,229
6 Harris Texas 51,953
7 Riverside Calif. 39,628
8 Broward Fla. 30,480
9 Dallas Texas 30,245
10 Tarrant Texas 29,229
Among regions, the West grew most rapidly 1.6 percent between 1997 and
1998, led by a 2.0 percent rate of growth in the Mountain states. The
South also exhibited a high rate of growth, at 1.3 percent. The Northeast
grew only by 0.3 percent, with the Middle Atlantic states growing only
0.2 percent.
The Internet tables show 1990 to 1998 population estimates and rankings
for all counties. Copies are available from the Public Information Office
(301-457-3030).
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The U.S. Census Bureau, pre-eminent collector and disseminator of timely,
relevant and quality data about the people and the economy of the United
States, conducts a population and housing census every 10 years, an
economic census every five years and more than 100 demographic and
economic surveys every year, all of them evolving from the first census in
1790.
