APRIL 18, 2019 — Counties with the largest numeric growth are all located in the south and the west, with counties in Texas taking four out of the top 10 spots according to new U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today. By metropolitan area, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, had the largest numeric growth with a gain of 131,767 (1.8 percent) in 2018, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. with an increase of 96,268 (2.0 percent). Migration, both domestic and international, as well as natural increase contributed to the growth in each of these areas, with natural increase serving as the largest source of population growth in Dallas and domestic migration serving as the largest source in Phoenix.
“One interesting trend we are seeing this year is that metro areas not among the most populous are ranked in the top 10 for population growth,” said Sandra Johnson, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “Though no new metro areas moved into the top 10 largest areas, Phoenix, Seattle, Austin, and Orlando all experienced numeric increases in population since 2010, rivaling growth in areas with much larger populations. This trend is consistent with the overall growth we are seeing in the south and the west.”
Among counties with a population of 20,000 or more, Williams County, N.D., was the fastest-growing county by percentage, increasing by 5.9 percent between 2017 and 2018 (from 33,395 to 35,350). The rapid growth Williams County, N.D., experienced was due mainly to net domestic migration (1,471) in 2018. The county also grew between 2017 and 2018 by natural increase (427) and international migration (52).
Of the other nine fastest-growing counties, all experienced positive domestic migration. All but Brunswick, N.C., and Hood, Texas, experienced growth through natural increase (having more births than deaths), and only Brunswick, N.C., had negative net international migration.
The statistics released today provide population estimates, rankings and components of change for the nation’s 390 metropolitan statistical areas, 555 micropolitan statistical areas, and 3,142 counties, as well as population estimates and rankings for Puerto Rico’s 78 municipios.
Additional Highlights:
Growth and decline:
Natural increase:
Total net migration:
Growth:
Decline:
In the coming months, the Census Bureau will release 2018 population estimates for cities and towns, national, state- and county-level housing unit estimates, as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.
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Top 10 Most Populous Counties: 2018 |
|||||
State |
County |
April 1, 2010 |
July 1, 2017 |
July 1, 2018 |
|
California |
Los Angeles County |
9,818,672 |
10,118,759 |
10,105,518 |
|
Illinois |
Cook County |
5,195,026 |
5,204,502 |
5,180,493 |
|
Texas |
Harris County |
4,093,188 |
4,664,159 |
4,698,619 |
|
Arizona |
Maricopa County |
3,817,359 |
4,329,580 |
4,410,824 |
|
California |
San Diego County |
3,095,349 |
3,325,468 |
3,343,364 |
|
California |
Orange County |
3,010,274 |
3,179,950 |
3,185,968 |
|
Florida |
Miami-Dade County |
2,498,013 |
2,744,878 |
2,761,581 |
|
Texas |
Dallas County |
2,366,683 |
2,622,799 |
2,637,772 |
|
New York |
Kings County |
2,504,717 |
2,596,385 |
2,582,830 |
|
California |
Riverside County |
2,189,765 |
2,417,224 |
2,450,758 |
Top 10 Counties in Numeric Growth: 2017 to 2018 |
||||||
Rank |
State |
County |
April 1, 2010 |
July 1, 2017 |
July 1, 2018 |
Numeric Growth |
1 |
Arizona |
Maricopa County |
3,817,359 |
4,329,580 |
4,410,824 |
81,244 |
2 |
Nevada |
Clark County |
1,951,271 |
2,183,310 |
2,231,647 |
48,337 |
3 |
Texas |
Harris County |
4,093,188 |
4,664,159 |
4,698,619 |
34,460 |
4 |
Texas |
Collin County |
782,220 |
971,393 |
1,005,146 |
33,753 |
5 |
California |
Riverside County |
2,189,765 |
2,417,224 |
2,450,758 |
33,534 |
6 |
Washington |
King County |
1,931,292 |
2,204,229 |
2,233,163 |
28,934 |
7 |
Florida |
Orange County |
1,145,954 |
1,352,933 |
1,380,645 |
27,712 |
8 |
Texas |
Tarrant County |
1,810,655 |
2,057,468 |
2,084,931 |
27,463 |
9 |
Texas |
Bexar County |
1,714,772 |
1,958,841 |
1,986,049 |
27,208 |
10 |
Florida |
Hillsborough County |
1,229,178 |
1,410,115 |
1,436,888 |
26,773 |
Top 10 Counties in Percentage Growth: 2017 to 2018 (For counties that were greater than or equal to 20,000 people in 2017 and 2018) |
||||||
Rank |
State |
County |
April 1, 2010 |
July 1, 2017 |
July 1, 2018 |
Percent Growth |
1 |
North Dakota |
Williams County |
22,399 |
33,395 |
35,350 |
5.9 |
2 |
Texas |
Comal County |
108,485 |
140,790 |
148,373 |
5.4 |
3 |
Texas |
Kaufman County |
103,363 |
122,845 |
128,622 |
4.7 |
4 |
North Carolina |
Brunswick County |
107,429 |
130,735 |
136,744 |
4.6 |
5 |
Florida |
Walton County |
55,043 |
68,275 |
71,375 |
4.5 |
6 |
Texas |
Midland County |
136,872 |
165,386 |
172,578 |
4.3 |
7 |
Florida |
Osceola County |
268,683 |
352,661 |
367,990 |
4.3 |
8 |
Florida |
St. Johns County |
190,034 |
243,928 |
254,261 |
4.2 |
9 |
Texas |
Hood County |
51,163 |
58,154 |
60,537 |
4.1 |
10 |
Georgia |
Jackson County |
60,457 |
67,716 |
70,422 |
4.0 |
Top 10 Metropolitan Areas in Numeric Growth: 2010 to 2018 |
|||||
Rank |
Name |
April 1, 2010 |
July 1, 2017 |
July 1, 2018 |
Numeric Growth |
1 |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
6,426,222 |
7,407,944 |
7,539,711 |
1,113,489 |
2 |
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
5,920,487 |
6,905,695 |
6,997,384 |
1,076,897 |
3 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
4,193,127 |
4,761,694 |
4,857,962 |
664,835 |
4 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
5,286,750 |
5,874,249 |
5,949,951 |
663,201 |
5 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
5,566,294 |
6,149,687 |
6,198,782 |
632,488 |
6 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
5,636,363 |
6,200,001 |
6,249,950 |
613,587 |
7 |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
3,439,805 |
3,884,469 |
3,939,363 |
499,558 |
8 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
12,828,946 |
13,298,709 |
13,291,486 |
462,540 |
9 |
Austin-Round Rock, TX |
1,716,321 |
2,115,230 |
2,168,316 |
451,995 |
10 |
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL |
2,134,402 |
2,512,917 |
2,572,962 |
438,560 |