MAY 25, 2017 — Ten of the 15 fastest-growing large cities were located across the South in 2016, with four of the top five in Texas, according to new population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Conroe, Texas (near Houston), was the fastest-growing large city (population of 50,000 or more) between 2015 and 2016 at 7.8 percent, making its growth rate more than 11 times the nation’s growth rate of 0.7 percent. Some of the other fastest-growing cities were: Frisco, Texas (6.2 percent); McKinney, Texas (5.9 percent); Greenville, S.C. (5.8 percent); and Georgetown, Texas (5.5 percent).
“Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S region,” said Amel Toukabri, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s population division. “Since the 2010 Census, the population in large southern cities grew by an average of 9.4 percent. In comparison, cities in the West grew 7.3 percent, while cities in the Northeast and Midwest had much lower growth rates at 1.8 percent and 3.0 percent respectively.”
Four cities in the West — Bend, Ore.; Buckeye, Ariz.; Lehi, Utah; and Meridian, Idaho — were among the top 15 fastest growing. Only one city in the Midwest, Ankeny, Iowa, topped the list while no cities in the Northeast were among the nation’s fastest growing.
The statistics released today cover all local governmental units, including incorporated places (such as cities and towns), minor civil divisions (such as townships) and consolidated cities (government units for which the functions of an incorporated place and its parent county have merged).
Later this summer, the Census Bureau will release additional population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin for the nation, states and counties.
Find more highlights from this year's release below and local-level statistics on census.gov. Tag @uscensusbureau in stories and email <pio@census.gov> to interview a subject expert.
While the overall list of the 15 largest U.S. cities did not change since 2015, Columbus, Ohio, surpassed Indianapolis, Ind., becoming the 14th largest city in the United States with a population of 860,090. Indianapolis has a population of 855,164.
Of the 19,510 incorporated places in the United States, around 76 percent (14,801) had fewer than 5,000 people in 2015, whereas only 3.9 percent (752) of cities had a population of 50,000 or more. Since 2015, on average, these small towns have seen uneven growth across U.S. regions:
Midsized cities in the Northeast, places with populations between 5,000 and less than 10,000, experienced relative stability, seeing a small average decline of 0.1 percent since the 2010 Census. Midsized cities in the other regions experienced population growth, on average.
The nation's housing stock grew by 911,000 last year to reach 135.7 million. The growth rate of 0.7 percent last year was roughly half of what it was in 2007 (1.4 percent). Housing unit growth last year remained below pre-2007 levels in nearly all states except North Dakota (up 1.6 percent last year, compared to a 0.9 percent increase in 2007), the District of Columbia (up 1.4 percent, compared to a 0.9 percent increase in 2007) and Iowa (returning to the 2007 level of 0.7 percent growth).
The 15 Fastest-Growing Large Cities between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016 (Populations of 50,000 or more in 2015) |
||||
Rank |
City Name (Metro area title in parentheses) |
State |
Percent |
2016 Total Population |
1 |
Conroe city (Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land) |
Texas |
7.8 |
82,286 |
2 |
Frisco city (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) |
Texas |
6.2 |
163,656 |
3 |
McKinney city (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) |
Texas |
5.9 |
172,298 |
4 |
Greenville city (Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin) |
South Carolina |
5.8 |
67,453 |
5 |
Georgetown city (Austin-Round Rock) |
Texas |
5.5 |
67,140 |
6 |
Bend city (Bend—Redmond) |
Oregon |
4.9 |
91,122 |
7 |
Buckeye city (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) |
Arizona |
4.8 |
64,629 |
8 |
Bonita Springs city (Cape Coral-Fort Myers) |
Florida |
4.8 |
54,198 |
9 |
New Braunfels city (San Antonio-New Braunfels) |
Texas |
4.7 |
73,959 |
10 |
Murfreesboro city (Nashville-Davidson—Murfreesboro—Franklin) |
Tennessee |
4.7 |
131,947 |
11 |
Lehi city (Provo-Orem) |
Utah |
4.6 |
61,130 |
12 |
Cedar Park city (Austin-Round Rock) |
Texas |
4.5 |
68,918 |
13 |
Meridian city (Boise City) |
Idaho |
4.5 |
95,623 |
14 |
Ankeny city (Des Moines-West Des Moines) |
Iowa |
4.5 |
58,627 |
15 |
Fort Myers city (Cape Coral-Fort Myers) |
Florida |
4.5 |
77,146 |
The 15 Cities With the Largest Numeric Increase Between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016 (Populations of 50,000 or more in 2015) |
||||
Rank |
Area Name |
State |
Numeric Increase |
2016 Total Population |
1 |
Phoenix city |
Arizona |
32,113 |
1,615,017 |
2 |
Los Angeles city |
California |
27,173 |
3,976,322 |
3 |
San Antonio city |
Texas |
24,473 |
1,492,510 |
4 |
New York city |
New York |
21,171 |
8,537,673 |
5 |
Seattle city |
Washington |
20,847 |
704,352 |
6 |
Dallas city |
Texas |
20,602 |
1,317,929 |
7 |
Fort Worth city |
Texas |
19,942 |
854,113 |
8 |
Houston city |
Texas |
18,666 |
2,303,482 |
9 |
Austin city |
Texas |
17,738 |
947,890 |
10 |
San Diego city |
California |
15,715 |
1,406,630 |
11 |
Charlotte city |
North Carolina |
15,656 |
842,051 |
12 |
Jacksonville city |
Florida |
13,455 |
880,619 |
13 |
Denver city |
Colorado |
13,028 |
693,060 |
14 |
Miami city |
Florida |
12,715 |
453,579 |
15 |
Washington city |
District of Columbia |
10,793 |
681,170 |
The 15 Most Populous Cities: July 1, 2016 |
|||
Rank |
Area Name |
State |
2016 Total Population |
1 |
New York city |
New York |
8,537,673 |
2 |
Los Angeles city |
California |
3,976,322 |
3 |
Chicago city |
Illinois |
2,704,958 |
4 |
Houston city |
Texas |
2,303,482 |
5 |
Phoenix city |
Arizona |
1,615,017 |
6 |
Philadelphia city |
Pennsylvania |
1,567,872 |
7 |
San Antonio city |
Texas |
1,492,510 |
8 |
San Diego city |
California |
1,406,630 |
9 |
Dallas city |
Texas |
1,317,929 |
10 |
San Jose city |
California |
1,025,350 |
11 |
Austin city |
Texas |
947,890 |
12 |
Jacksonville city |
Florida |
880,619 |
13 |
San Francisco city |
California |
870,887 |
14 |
Columbus city |
Ohio |
860,090 |
15 |
Indianapolis city (balance) |
Indiana |
855,164 |
Population Change Between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016 |
|||
Population Less Than 5,000 as of 2015 |
|||
Region |
Number of Areas |
Average Numeric Change |
Average Percent Change |
(1)Northeast |
1,440 |
-7 |
-0.5 |
(2)Midwest |
7,019 |
-1 |
-0.3 |
(3)South |
4,999 |
6 |
0.2 |
(4)West |
1,343 |
12 |
0.8 |
Population With 5,000 to 9,999 as of 2015 |
|||
Region |
Number of Areas |
Average Numeric Difference |
Average Percent Difference |
(1)Northeast |
298 |
-11 |
-0.2 |
(2)Midwest |
543 |
13 |
0.2 |
(3)South |
579 |
64 |
0.9 |
(4)West |
249 |
104 |
1.4 |
Population With 50,000 or More as of 2015 |
|||
Region |
Number of Areas |
Average Numeric Difference |
Average Percent Difference |
(1)Northeast |
78 |
368 |
0.0 |
(2)Midwest |
158 |
337 |
0.3 |
(3)South |
234 |
1,989 |
1.3 |
(4)West |
282 |
1,678 |
1.1 |
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