MAY 26, 2022 — Populations of cities and towns in the South and West regions of the United States still experienced the most growth from July 2020 to July 2021, with the top 15 fastest-growing cities or towns located in these regions, according to new population estimates for cities and towns, released by the U.S. Census Bureau today.
Eight of the 15 fastest-growing large cities or towns by percent change were in the West — with five in Arizona — and seven in the South. The South and West also contained the top 15 cities with the largest numeric gains — 11 in the South and four in the West.
“While only 4% of all cities and towns had a population of 50,000 or more in 2021, collectively they contained 129.3 million people — nearly 39% of the U.S. population,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Population Division at the Census Bureau. “On the other hand, of the 19,494 incorporated places in the United States, more than 75% had fewer than 5,000 people.”
San Antonio, Texas, topped the list of the largest numeric gainers with an increase of 13,626 people between 2020 and 2021.
Eight of the 15 fastest-growing large cities or towns by percent change were in the West — with five in Arizona — and seven in the South. The South and West also contained the top 15 cities with the largest numeric gains — 11 in the South and four in the West.
“While only 4% of all cities and towns had a population of 50,000 or more in 2021, collectively they contained 129.3 million people — nearly 39% of the U.S. population,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Population Division at the Census Bureau. “On the other hand, of the 19,494 incorporated places in the United States, more than 75% had fewer than 5,000 people.”
Top Places for Population Growth
Arizona, Texas, Florida and Idaho all had several places among the 15 fastest-growing cities or towns:- Georgetown, Texas, had the largest growth from July 2020 to July 2021, increasing by 10.5%, a rate of growth which would double the population in less than seven years.
- Georgetown was followed by Leander, Texas (10.1%); Queen Creek Town, Arizona (8.9%); Buckeye, Arizona (8.6%); and New Braunfels, Texas (8.3%).
- The sixth-fastest-growing area was Fort Myers, Florida (6.8%), followed by Casa Grande, Arizona (6.2%); Maricopa, Arizona (6.1%); North Port, Florida (5.5%); Spring Hill, Tennessee (5.4%); Goodyear, Arizona (5.4%); and Port St. Lucie, Florida (5.2%).
- Rounding out the list were three suburbs of Boise, Idaho: Meridian (5.2%), Caldwell (5.2%) and Nampa (5.0%).
San Antonio, Texas, topped the list of the largest numeric gainers with an increase of 13,626 people between 2020 and 2021.
- Following San Antonio were Phoenix, Arizona (13,224); Fort Worth, Texas (12,916); Port St. Lucie, Florida (10,771); North Las Vegas, Nevada (9,917); Cape Coral, Florida (8,220); Buckeye, Arizona (8,001); Frisco, Texas (7,933); New Braunfels, Texas (7,538); Georgetown, Texas (7,193); Meridian, Idaho (6,234); Leander, Texas (6,159); Fort Meyers, Florida (5,891); Denton, Texas (5,844); and McKinney, Texas (5,568).
Most Populous Cities
The top 15 largest cities remained the same as in 2020 although more than half experienced decreases in their population between 2020 and 2021: New York, New York (-305,465); Los Angeles, California (-40,537); Chicago, Illinois (-45,175); Houston, Texas (-11,777); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (-24,754); San Diego, California (-3,783); Dallas, Texas (-14,777); San Jose, California (-27,419); and Indianapolis, Indiana (-5,343).- The other six most populous cities experienced some moderate to small growth in population. San Antonio, Texas, had the highest numeric gain of 13,626 people between 2020 and 2021. Followed by Phoenix, Arizona (13,224), and Fort Worth, Texas (12,916).
- The remaining three large cities experienced relatively small population growth. Those cities were Jacksonville, Florida (4,151); Austin, Texas (1,056); and Columbus Ohio (adding only 668 people).
- Following Los Angeles in population size were Chicago, Illinois (2.7 million); Houston, Texas (2.3 million); Phoenix, Arizona (1.6 million); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.6 million); San Antonio, Texas (1.5 million); San Diego, California (1.4 million); Dallas, Texas (1.3 million); and San Jose, California (1.0 million).
