Populations of cities, towns, and counties 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.
The fastest-growing county was Rockwall County, Texas, which increased by 6.5% between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, followed by Chambers County, Texas (5.7%); Jasper County, South Carolina (5.4%); Hays and Comal counties in Texas, and Morgan County, Georgia (5.2%) were tied for fourth fastest growing, followed by Fort Bend County (5.1%); and Long County, Georgia (5.0%).
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.”
Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Idaho all had several places among the 15 fastest-growing cities or towns:
*San Antonio, Texas, topped the list of the largest numeric gainers with an increase of 13,626 people between 2020 and 2021.
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).
Despite decreasing in population, New York remained the nation’s largest city. Its July 1, 2021, population of 8.5 million was more than twice that of the next largest city, Los Angeles, with a population of nearly 4 million.
Population milestones:
The nation’s housing stock grew by about 1.3 million units between July 2020 and July 2021, reaching a total of 142.2 million. The annual growth rate of 1.0% from 2020 to 2021 increased slightly from 0.8% in the 2019 to 2020 period.
Table 1. The 15 Fastest-Growing Large Cities Between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, With Populations of 50,000 or More on July 1, 2020 | ||||
Rank | Area Name | State Name | Percent Increase | 2021 Total Population |
1 | Georgetown city | Texas | 10.5 | 75,420 |
2 | Leander city | Texas | 10.1 | 67,124 |
3 | Queen Creek town | Arizona | 8.9 | 66,346 |
4 | Buckeye city | Arizona | 8.6 | 101,315 |
5 | New Braunfels city | Texas | 8.3 | 98,857 |
6 | Fort Myers city | Florida | 6.8 | 92,245 |
7 | Casa Grande city | Arizona | 6.2 | 57,699 |
8 | Maricopa city | Arizona | 6.1 | 62,720 |
9 | North Port city | Florida | 5.5 | 80,021 |
10 | Spring Hill city | Tennessee | 5.4 | 53,339 |
11 | Goodyear city | Arizona | 5.4 | 101,733 |
12 | Port St. Lucie city | Florida | 5.2 | 217,523 |
13 | Meridian city | Idaho | 5.2 | 125,963 |
14 | Caldwell city | Idaho | 5.2 | 63,629 |
15 | Nampa city | Idaho | 5.0 | 106,186 |
Table 2. The 15 Cities With the Largest Numeric Increase Between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, With Populations of 50,000 or More on July 1, 2020 | ||||
Rank | Area Name | State Name | Numeric Increase | 2021 Total Population |
1 | San Antonio city | Texas | 13,626 | 1,451,853 |
2 | Phoenix city | Arizona | 13,224 | 1,624,569 |
3 | Fort Worth city | Texas | 12,916 | 935,508 |
4 | Port St. Lucie city | Florida | 10,771 | 217,523 |
5 | North Las Vegas city | Nevada | 9,917 | 274,133 |
6 | Cape Coral city | Florida | 8,220 | 204,510 |
7 | Buckeye city | Arizona | 8,001 | 101,315 |
8 | Frisco city | Texas | 7,933 | 210,719 |
9 | New Braunfels city | Texas | 7,538 | 98,857 |
10 | Georgetown city | Texas | 7,193 | 75,420 |
11 | Meridian city | Idaho | 6,234 | 125,963 |
12 | Leander city | Texas | 6,159 | 67,124 |
13 | Fort Myers city | Florida | 5,891 | 92,245 |
14 | Denton city | Texas | 5,844 | 148,146 |
15 | McKinney city | Texas | 5,568 | 202,690 |
Table 3. The 15 Most Populous Cities on July 1, 2021 | |||
Rank | Area Name | State Name | 2019 Total Population |
1 | New York city | New York | 8,467,513 |
2 | Los Angeles city | California | 3,849,297 |
3 | Chicago city | Illinois | 2,696,555 |
4 | Houston city | Texas | 2,288,250 |
5 | Phoenix city | Arizona | 1,624,569 |
6 | Philadelphia city | Pennsylvania | 1,576,251 |
7 | San Antonio city | Texas | 1,451,853 |
8 | San Diego city | California | 1,381,611 |
9 | Dallas city | Texas | 1,288,457 |
10 | San Jose city | California | 983,489 |
11 | Austin city | Texas | 964,177 |
12 | Jacksonville city | Florida | 954,614 |
13 | Fort Worth city | Texas | 935,508 |
14 | Columbus city | Ohio | 906,528 |
15 | Indianapolis city (balance) | Indiana | 882,039 |
Table 4. Total Population Living in Cities and Towns by Population Size as of July 1, 2021 |
||
Population Size | Number of Cities | Total Population |
Under 5,000 | 14,684 | 16,302,959 |
5,000 to 9,999 | 1,657 | 11,783,275 |
10,000 to 49,999 | 2,355 | 51,546,205 |
50,000 and Over | 798 | 129,277,621 |
The statistics released above 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 develops city and town population estimates by using updated housing unit estimates to distribute county household population to sub-county areas based on the average household population per housing unit.
Source: Census Bureau
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