May 19, 2016 — Georgetown, Texas, saw its population rise 7.8 percent between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015, making it the nation’s fastest-growing city with a population of 50,000 or more, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Georgetown is part of the Austin-Round Rock metro area, which crossed the 2 million population threshold in 2015 for the first time, according to statistics released earlier this year. This metro area is also home to Pflugerville, the nation’s 11th fastest-growing large city. Austin itself added more people over the period (19,000) than all but seven other U.S. cities.
Texas was home to five of the 11 fastest-growing cities (New Braunfels, Frisco and Pearland were the others), and five of the eight that added the most people (Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas were the others).
New York remained the nation’s most populous city and gained 55,000 people during the year ending July 1, 2015, which is more than any other U.S. city. New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county equivalent of New York State. The five boroughs are Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island. Queens (16,700), Brooklyn (16,000) and the Bronx (13,700) accounted for the bulk of New York’s growth.
Denver joined the list of the 20 most populous cities in the United States, moving up two spots to 19th. It displaced Detroit, which fell from 18th to 21st. In addition, Seattle moved up two spots to 18th. Denver and Seattle were both among the nation’s 11 top numerically gaining cities.
Among the 15 fastest-growing cities, the only one outside the South or West was Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. It grew by 6.5 percent, ranking third. Ankeny completed a special census on Dec. 10, 2014, that showed the population to be 54,598. The 2015 estimate puts the population at 56,764.
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).
Other highlights:
For more information about the geographic areas for which the Census Bureau produces population estimates, see //www.census.gov/popest/about/geo-topics.html.
Housing Units
Also released today were July 1, 2015, estimates of the number of housing units for the nation, states and counties. These estimates show that Texas gained more housing units than any other state between 2014 and 2015 (adding 162,000), with North Dakota experiencing the fastest rate of growth in the number of units (3.5 percent). Among counties with at least 2,000 housing units, McKenzie, N.D., added units at the fastest rate over the period, as the number rose 55.9 percent (from 3,760 to 5,862) .
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To produce population estimates for cities and towns, the Census Bureau first generates county population estimates using a component of population change method, which updates the latest census population using data on births, deaths, and domestic and international migration. This yields a county-level total of the population living in households. Next, updated housing unit estimates and rates of overall occupancy are used to distribute county household population into geographic areas within the county. Then, estimates of the population living in group quarters, such as college dormitories and prisons, are added to create estimates of the total resident population.
Table 1. The 15 Fastest-Growing Cities Between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015, With Populations of 50,000 or More on July 1, 2014 |
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Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
Percent |
2015 Total Population |
1 |
Georgetown city |
Texas |
7.8 |
63,716 |
2 |
New Braunfels city |
Texas |
6.6 |
70,543 |
3 |
Ankeny city |
Iowa |
6.5 |
56,764 |
4 |
Frisco city |
Texas |
6.3 |
154,407 |
5 |
South Jordan city |
Utah |
6.0 |
66,648 |
6 |
Dublin city |
California |
5.5 |
57,721 |
7 |
Pearland city |
Texas |
5.3 |
108,821 |
8 |
Milpitas city |
California |
5.3 |
77,604 |
9 |
Broomfield city |
Colorado |
5.2 |
65,065 |
10 |
Mount Pleasant town |
South Carolina |
4.7 |
81,317 |
11 |
Pflugerville city |
Texas |
4.5 |
57,122 |
12 |
Fort Myers city |
Florida |
4.4 |
74,013 |
13 |
Murfreesboro city |
Tennessee |
4.4 |
126,118 |
14 |
Goodyear city |
Arizona |
4.3 |
79,003 |
15 |
Buckeye town |
Arizona |
4.3 |
62,138 |
Table 2. The 15 Cities With the Largest Numeric Increase Between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015, With Populations of 50,000 or more on July 1, 2014 |
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Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
Numeric Increase |
2015 Total Population |
1 |
New York city |
New York |
55,211 |
8,550,405 |
2 |
Houston city |
Texas |
40,032 |
2,296,224 |
3 |
Los Angeles city |
California |
34,943 |
3,971,883 |
4 |
San Antonio city |
Texas |
29,536 |
1,469,845 |
5 |
Phoenix city |
Arizona |
24,614 |
1,563,025 |
6 |
Fort Worth city |
Texas |
19,894 |
833,319 |
7 |
Dallas city |
Texas |
19,642 |
1,300,092 |
8 |
Austin city |
Texas |
19,117 |
931,830 |
9 |
Denver city |
Colorado |
18,582 |
682,545 |
10 |
Charlotte city |
North Carolina |
17,695 |
827,097 |
11 |
Seattle city |
Washington |
15,339 |
684,451 |
12 |
Jacksonville city |
Florida |
13,069 |
868,031 |
13 |
San Diego city |
California |
12,677 |
1,394,928 |
14 |
Washington city |
District of Columbia |
12,392 |
672,228 |
15 |
San Francisco city |
California |
12,279 |
864,816 |
Table 3. The 15 Most Populous Cities on July 1, 2015 |
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Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
2015 Total Population |
1 |
New York city |
New York |
8,550,405 |
2 |
Los Angeles city |
California |
3,971,883 |
3 |
Chicago city |
Illinois |
2,720,546 |
4 |
Houston city |
Texas |
2,296,224 |
5 |
Philadelphia city |
Pennsylvania |
1,567,442 |
6 |
Phoenix city |
Arizona |
1,563,025 |
7 |
San Antonio city |
Texas |
1,469,845 |
8 |
San Diego city |
California |
1,394,928 |
9 |
Dallas city |
Texas |
1,300,092 |
10 |
San Jose city |
California |
1,026,908 |
11 |
Austin city |
Texas |
931,830 |
12 |
Jacksonville city |
Florida |
868,031 |
13 |
San Francisco city |
California |
864,816 |
14 |
Indianapolis city (balance) |
Indiana |
853,173 |
15 |
Columbus city |
Ohio |
850,106 |