MAY 23, 2019 — The South and West continue to have the fastest-growing cities in the United States, according to new population estimates for cities and towns released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Among the 15 cities or towns with the largest numeric gains between 2017 and 2018, eight were in the South, six were in the West, and one was in the Midwest.

Phoenix, Ariz., was at the top of the list with an increase of 25,288 people. Rounding out the top five with the largest population increases were San Antonio, Texas (20,824); Fort Worth, Texas (19,552); Seattle, Wash. (15,354); and Charlotte, N.C. (13,151).

Cities in the South that experienced a surge in population growth were Austin, Texas (12,504); Jacksonville, Fla. (12,153); Frisco, Texas (10,884); McKinney, Texas (9,888); and Miami, Fla. (8,884). Cities in the West were San Diego, Calif. (11,549); Denver, Colo. (11,053); Henderson, Nev. (10,759); and Las Vegas, Nev. (9,016). Columbus, Ohio (10,770), was the only city from the Midwest on the top 15 list.

Ten incorporated places exceeded the 50,000 population mark in 2018 — seven in the South, two in the West, and one in the Midwest. These cities and towns were Madison, Ala. (50,440); Maricopa, Ariz. (50,024); Bentonville, Ark. (51,111); Newark, Ohio (50,029); Stillwater, Okla. (50,391); Smyrna, Tenn. (50,775); Leander, Texas (56,111); Little Elm, Texas (50,314); Wylie, Texas (51,585); and Lacey, Wash. (50,718).

Additionally, three cities crossed the 100,000 population mark in 2018. They were Vacaville, Calif. (100,154); San Angelo, Texas (100,215); and Kenosha, Wis. (100,164).

Big City and Small Town America

The United States is a nation of both big cities and small towns. While only 4.0% (775) of all cities had a population of 50,000 or more in 2018, collectively they contained 127.1 million people — nearly 39 percent of the U.S. population. On the other hand, of the 19,495 incorporated places in the United States, around 76% (14,768) had fewer than 5,000 people.

Housing Unit Growth Remained Steady in Nearly All States

The nation’s housing stock grew by 1.2 million units between 2017 and 2018, reaching 138.5 million housing units in total. The growth rate of 0.8% from 2017 to 2018 remained the same as from the previous year.

Four states gained more than 50,000 housing units between 2017 and 2018: Texas (172,000), Florida (108,000), California (104,000) and North Carolina (63,000).

Utah was the fastest-growing state in terms of housing units, with an increase of 2.2% between 2017 and 2018. Idaho had an increase of 1.9%, and Colorado and Texas had an increase of 1.6% each.

Housing Unit Growth Since Census Day (April 1, 2010)

The nation’s housing stock increased by 6.8 million units (5.2%) since April 1, 2010. North Dakota was the fastest-growing state in terms of housing units, with an increase of 18.9% during the same period. Rounding out the top five states in percentage gain were Utah (13.2%), Texas (11.3%), Idaho (10.2%) and Colorado (9.5%).

Twelve states added more than 150,000 housing units between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2018. In terms of the largest numeric increase, the top six were Texas (1.1 million), California (597,000), Florida (558,000), North Carolina (357,000), Washington (262,000) and New York (256,000).

Detailed Tables

Table 1. The 15 Fastest-Growing Large Cities Between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018, With Populations of 50,000 or More on July 1, 2017 Rank Area name State name Percent

increase 2018 total population 1 Buckeye city Arizona 8.5 74,370 2 New Braunfels city Texas 7.2 84,612 3 Apex town North Carolina 6.8 53,852 4 Frisco city Texas 6.1 188,170 5 Meridian city Idaho 6.1 106,804 6 McKinney city Texas 5.4 191,645 7 Georgetown city Texas 5.2 74,180 8 Rowlett city Texas 5.1 66,285 9 St. Cloud city Florida 5.0 54,115 10 Ankeny city Iowa 4.6 65,284 11 Dublin city California 4.5 63,445 12 South Jordan city Utah 4.4 74,149 13 Midland city Texas 4.4 142,344 14 Castle Rock town Colorado 4.3 64,827 15 Round Rock city Texas 4.3 128,739

Table 2. The 15 Cities With the Largest Numeric Increase Between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018, With Populations of 50,000 or More on July 1, 2017 Rank Area name State name Numeric increase 2018 total population 1 Phoenix city Arizona 25,288 1,660,272 2 San Antonio city Texas 20,824 1,532,233 3 Fort Worth city Texas 19,552 895,008 4 Seattle city Washington 15,354 744,955 5 Charlotte city North Carolina 13,151 872,498 6 Austin city Texas 12,504 964,254 7 Jacksonville city Florida 12,153 903,889 8 San Diego city California 11,549 1,425,976 9 Denver city Colorado 11,053 716,492 10 Frisco city Texas 10,884 188,170 11 Columbus city Ohio 10,770 892,533 12 Henderson city Nevada 10,759 310,390 13 McKinney city Texas 9,888 191,645 14 Las Vegas city Nevada 9,016 644,644 15 Miami city Florida 8,884 470,914

Table 3. The 15 Most Populous Cities on July 1, 2018 Rank Area name State name 2018 total population 1 New York city New York 8,398,748 2 Los Angeles city California 3,990,456 3 Chicago city Illinois 2,705,994 4 Houston city Texas 2,325,502 5 Phoenix city Arizona 1,660,272 6 Philadelphia city Pennsylvania 1,584,138 7 San Antonio city Texas 1,532,233 8 San Diego city California 1,425,976 9 Dallas city Texas 1,345,047 10 San Jose city California 1,030,119 11 Austin city Texas 964,254 12 Jacksonville city Florida 903,889 13 Fort Worth city Texas 895,008 14 Columbus city Ohio 892,533 15 San Francisco city California 883,305

Table 4. Total Population Living in Cities and Towns by Population Size as of July 1, 2018 Population size Number of cities Total population Under 5,000 14,768 16,752,328 5,000 to 9,999 1,643 11,740,211 10,000 to 49,999 2,309 50,494,290 50,000 and Over 775 127,108,750

Table 5. Average Annual Population Change, 2017–2018, by Population Size as of July 1, 2017 Population size Number of cities Average numeric change Average percent change Under 5,000 14,768 3 0.2 5,000 to 9,999 1,661 48 0.7 10,000 to 49,999 2,300 151 0.7 50,000 and Over 766 988 0.7

Table 6. Average Cumulative Population Change, 2010–2018, by Population Size as of July 1, 2010 Population Size Number of cities Average numeric change Average percent change Under 5,000 14,831 18 0.8 5,000 to 9,999 1,667 307 4.3 10,000 to 49,999 2,278 1,309 5.6 50,000 and Over 719 11,898 7.5

The statistics released today cover all local functioning governmental units, including incorporated places (like 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).

The Census Bureau will release 2018 population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin for the nation, states and counties on June 20, 2019. The data will be embargoed June 18.

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