One State Is Home To 7 Of The Top 10 Fastest-Growing Metros In The U.S.

Whether for work, weather, family, or any number of personal reasons, Americans frequently pack up their things and move to another part of the country. But in recent years, one state has seen its population grow at a significantly higher-than-average rate.

Sunshine State stats

Over the one-year period beginning in July 2021, the Census Bureau found that a whopping 70% of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country were all in Florida … including the retirement resort town of The Villages, which came out on top with a whopping 7.5% annual growth rate.

The only metro area outside of the state to crack the top five was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which came in at number two.

From there, the next four were, in order, the Florida cities of Lakeland, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, and North Port.

St. George, Utah, broke Florida’s streak at number seven.

While Florida has attracted transplants from other states based on factors like its nice weather and low taxes, population increases also include the birth rate, so some of the gains came from within the metro areas on the list.

And even though Florida clearly leads the way in terms of percentage, the Dallas, Texas, metropolitan area came out on top if you’re looking at raw numbers. Its population spiked by more than 170,000 over the same year.

At the bottom of the list

The gains in cities near the top came at the expense of places with declining populations. Nearly two-thirds of the 384 metro areas studied saw increases, but there were plenty that lost a significant percentage of their population.

Bringing up the rear was Houma, Louisiana, which lost 2.9% of its population in one year. It was one of three Louisiana metro areas in the bottom 10.

Chris Agee March 22nd, 2024

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