Southern States Are Home to the Fastest-Growing Cities in the U.S.

Phoenix, Arizona
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The 15 fastest-growing large U.S. cities, having a population of 50,000 or more, with the South leading the way, has been revealed.

The Southern and Western Regions have experienced rapid population growth since 2010, reports United States Census Bureau. Frisco, Texas, topped the list with a growth rate of 71.1 percent, more than half than it was since April 1, 2020, Chief of the Local Government Estimates and Migration Processing Branch in the Census Bureau's Population Division, Amel Toukabri said.

Among the 15 cities and towns in the U.S., with a population of at least 50,000 as of April 1, 2010, and that the largest numeric increase this decade, eight were in the South, five were in the West, and one each in the Northeast and the Midwest.

The top city is Phoenix in Arizona, gaining 234,300 people for an average of 25,330 people per year between 2010 and 2019. With the exception of New York, New York, and Columbus, Ohio, the list cities with the largest numeric gain were located either in the South or the West.

Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas collectively have added a total of almost 933,600 people; that's 39.5 percent of the about 2.4 million in increase registered by the top 15 numeric gainers.

The top fastest-growing large cities (Between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2019) with populations of 50,000 or more on April 1, 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau:

  • Frisco, Texas (South) - 71.1%

  • Buckeye, Arizona (West) - 56.6%

  • New Braunfels, Texas (South) - 56.4%

  • McKinney, Texas (South) - 51.9%

  • South Jordan, Utah (West) - 51.8%

  • Meridian, Utah (West) - 48.3%

  • Cedar Park, Idaho (South) - 44.2%

  • Fort Myers, Florida (South) - 39.8%

  • Conroe, Texas (South) - 39.3%

  • Irvine, California (West) - 35.5%

  • Murfreesboro, Tennessee (South) - 34.6%

  • Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (South) - 34.1%

  • Round Rock, Texas (South) - 33.3%

  • Goodyear, Arizona (West) - 33.1%

  • Franklin, Tennessee (South) - 32.8%

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The 15 cities with the largest numeric increase (Between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2019), with populations of 50,000 or more on April 1, 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau:

  • Phoenix , Arizona (West) - 234,301

  • Houston, Texas (South) - 224,751

  • San Antonio, Texas (South) - 221,092

  • Los Angeles, California (West) - 186,437

  • Austin, Texas (South) - 177,079

  • Fort Worth, Texas (South) - 164,761

  • New York, New York (Northeast) - 161,786

  • Charlotte, North Carolina (South) - 150,101

  • Dallas, Texas (South) - 145,915

  • Seattle, Washington (West) - 145,014

  • Denver, Colorado (West) - 127,386

  • San Diego, California (West) - 121,922

  • Columbus, Ohio (Midwest) - 109,535

  • Washington, District of Columbia - 103,982

  • Jacksonville, Florida (South) - 89,757


As for the most populous U.S. cities since 2010, New York, New York, has remained to be the most populous city with a population of 8.3 million on July 1, 2019. Los Angeles, California, follows with almost four million. Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania round out the top five.

Meanwhile, between 2018 and 2019, housing stocks across the nation grew by about 1.2 million housing units for a total of 139.7 million. Utah was the top state in terms of growth rate, with 2.2 percent between 2018 and 2019, followed by Idaho with 2.1 percent and Colorado and Texas, each with an increase of 1.7 percent.

More about the report here.

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