Not everyone is heading to a major metropolis. You may not have even heard of many of the metros topping the
Census Bureau’s latest list of fastest-growing cities—but that may change as their populations surge.
The nation’s fastest-growing city this year is Conroe, Texas. About 40 miles outside of Houston, Conroe saw its population increase 7.8 percent between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016, according to the Census report, which only included cities with at least 50,000 residents. Nationwide, the average rate of population growth for cities was just 0.7 percent over the same time period.
Texas cities Frisco and McKinney, on the outskirts of Dallas, also took the second and third spot, respectively, on the Census Bureau’s list. “The outer fringes of metros are where the most land is available for construction,” says
Dowell Myers, a housing demographer at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “So cow pastures have population growth.”
Indeed, many of the fastest-growing cities are suburbs in the South, where companies are heading for tax breaks and warmer climates. Populations in Southern cities rose 9.4 percent, on average, and the West saw a 7.3 percent average growth. Populations in the Midwest and Northeast, on the other hand, rose only 3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
The following are the 15 fastest-growing cities, according to Census data (including the percent change in population growth for each area between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016):
- Conroe, Texas: 7.8%
- Frisco, Texas: 6.2%
- McKinney, Texas: 5.9%
- Greenville, S.C.: 5.8%
- Georgetown, Texas: 5.5%
- Bend, Ore.: 4.9%
- Buckeye, Ariz.: 4.8%
- Bonita Springs, Fla.: 4.8%
- New Braunfels, Texas: 4.7%
- Murfreesboro, Tenn.: 4.7%
- Lehi, Utah: 4.6%
- Cedar Park, Texas: 4.5%
- Meridian, Idaho: 4.5%
- Ankeny, Iowa: 4.5%
- Fort Myers, Fla.: 4.5%
Source: “The Fastest-Growing Cities Aren’t the Ones You’d Expect,” realtor.com® (May 26, 2017)
