America's Fastest Growing Cities

The U.S. population rose by just 0.75% in 2014, roughly flat from previous years and the lowest growth rate in more than 70 years. Not only has the country become less attractive to immigrants than in previous years, with the population growing just over 0.3% last year as a result of migration, but the U.S. domestic birth rate has also dropped to a multi-decade low.

While population growth in most of the country’s metro areas has slowed in recent years, in a small number of metro areas it grew a great deal. From April 2010 to July 2014, the U.S. population rose by just 3.1%, but in five metro areas the population grew by 10% or more. Based on recently released U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 24/7 Wall St. examined the cities with the fastest growing populations.

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The fastest growing metro areas stood out as an exception to national trends. In 85 of the 381 U.S. metropolitan areas, the population fell or remained flat last year. In 184 of the remaining metros, population growth was less than 1%. In a previous interview, Bill Frey, senior fellow and demographer at the Brookings Institution told 24/7 Wall St. these declines are attributable to a number of factors, including natural changes in population and shifting immigration trends.

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However, it was domestic migration that drove the population in America’s fastest growing metro areas. The population of the Villages, Florida, grew 26.1% in the last four years as a result of domestic migration, one of the highest such growths compared to other U.S. metro areas.

Several factors that are unique to these places drive their economies and may draw people to move there. In Odessa, Midland, and Bismark, “they just happen to have an oil boom,” said Frey. Other metro areas such as The Villages can be “retirement communities [that] happened to be able to get some of those folks.”

All but one fast growing metro area had an unemployment rate lower than the national rate of 5.6% in December. Bismarck, North Dakota and Midland, Texas had the nation’s lowest and third lowest unemployment rates, respectively, at just 3.0% and 2.0%. Of course, for residents in places such as The Villages, work may not be the primary appeal because many of the residents are of retirement age.

Based on recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population changes in 381 metropolitan statistical areas from April 2010 through July 2014. We also reviewed figures from the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey. Data on incomes and price levels, as of 2013 and 2010, respectively, are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Unemployment rates for December 2014 and annual unemployment rates for 2010 and 2013 are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These are America’s Fastest Growing Cities

America’s fastest growing cities

10. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
> Population growth (2010-2014): 9.3%
> Total population: 253,618
> Per capita income: $45,195
> Unemployment rate: 5.2%

The population of the Crestview metro area grew 9.3% from 2010 to 2014, the 10th fastest growth rate among all metro areas. As in most fast-growing metros, the Crestview area’s birth rate of 6.1% was higher than the national birth rate of 5.5% over that period. Migration, however, was the primary driver of the growth. The area’s population grew more than 7% due to migration. Nationwide, the population grew by just 1.3% due to migration.

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9. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
> Population growth (2010-2014): 9.5%
> Total population: 661,115
> Per capita income: $30,497
> Unemployment rate: 7.3%

As in most areas with fast-growing populations, the Cape Coral metro area economy has also been improving. The area’s 2010 unemployment rate of 12.6% fell to 7.3% in 2013, a drop of 5.3 percentage points. By contrast, the national unemployment rate fell 4.3 percentage points over that period. As of December of last year, the area’s unemployment rate had fallen even further to 5.2%, one of the lower rates nationwide. The natural population increase — the difference between area births and deaths — contributed almost nothing to overall population growth. The population growth rate due to migration of 9.6% was by far the primary driver.

8. Auburn-Opelika, AL
> Population growth (2010-2014): 9.6%
> Total population: 150,933
> Per capita income: $28,445
> Unemployment rate: 5.8%

More than 22% of Auburn-Opelika residents were in their 20s in 2013, a higher proportion than in other fast-growing metros, and considerably higher than the comparable national percentage of 14%. As was the case in most metro areas, however, the Auburn area’s 20 to 29 age group shrank slightly from 2010. From 2010 to 2014, the share of metro area residents 50 and over swelled, while younger age groups shrank. This was also generally the case nationwide, due in large part to the aging of the relatively large baby boomer population. Still, in the Auburn area, the average estimated age was approximately 34 years, one of the younger populations compared to other metro areas.

7. St. George, UT
> Population growth (2010-2014): 9.8%
> Total population: 147,800
> Per capita income: $26,776
> Unemployment rate: 5.4%

With a GDP per capita of less than $30,000 in 2013, St. George metro area residents were relatively poor. While the region was one of the poorer among fast-growing metros, the unemployment rate fell nearly 5 percentage points from 2010 to 2013, slightly faster than the nationwide change. The largest age groups in St. George were children and people 65 and over in 2013, which comprised nearly 25% and nearly 19% of the population, respectively, both among the highest such proportions nationwide.

6. Bismarck, ND
> Population growth (2010-2014): 9.9%
> Total population: 124,817
> Per capita income: $50,140
> Unemployment rate: 2.7%

As in several other metros with especially fast-growing populations, a regional oil boom in the Bismarck area has stimulated the area’s economy and generated high-paying jobs. The area’s unemployment rate of 2.7% was the lowest in the nation in 2013, and down even from 2010. Although, for the first time in years, Bismarck’s unemployment rate had risen slightly to 3.1% as of December 2014. More than 75% of the population growth came from migration, and many of the new arrivals were relatively young. The area’s 30-39 age group grew 2.8% from 2010 to last year, one of the larger such increases in the country. Like in most metro areas, however, more than 20% of the population was between 50 and 64 in 2013.

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5. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC
> Population growth (2010-2014): 10.3%
> Total population: 404,951
> Per capita income: $35,117
> Unemployment rate: 8.6%

Natural population growths — from births net of deaths — account for a relatively small share of the overall population growths in most areas. In the Myrtle Beach area, however, natural growth did not even account for a small share because births roughly equalled deaths. While nearly all of the area’s population growth can be attributed to migration, people were not moving to the area for jobs. The unemployment rate of 7.7% in December of last year was down from 2013 but was also one of the higher rates nationwide and the only unemployment rate among fast growing metros to exceed the national unemployment figure in December. The share of the area’s population 65 and over rose more than 4% from 2010 to 2014, faster than that age group’s growth in nearly all other metro areas. Many of the area’s new arrivals likely moved to the area in order to retire.

4. Odessa, TX
> Population growth (2010-2014): 12.3%
> Total population: 149,378
> Per capita income: $56,864
> Unemployment rate: 3.9%

As in nearly all metro areas, migration accounted for a majority of the population growth from 2010 to last year in the Odessa metro area. The area’s population grew by 8.6% due to natural growth, one of the highest natural population increases nationwide and the highest among the fast growing metro areas. Due largely to the success of the regional oil and gas industry, Odessa had an unemployment rate of less than 4% in 2013, which fell even lower to 2.6% in December of last year. The healthy job market likely made the area a good candidate for Americans looking to relocate.

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3. Austin-Round Rock, TX
> Population growth (2010-2014): 12.5%
> Total population: 1,883,051
> Per capita income: $52,110
> Unemployment rate: 5.1%

Austin-Round Rock is the largest of the top 10 fastest growing cities. At a total population nearly 1.9 million in 2014, its population has grown by almost 230,000 over the last four years. A strong economy and a vibrant community have helped attract many migrants, especially young people, to the area. The area’s average age is roughly 34 years old, among the youngest in the country. The Texas metro is home to the state’s capital, as well as the headquarters of Dell computers.

2. Midland, TX
> Population growth (2010-2014): 13.7%
> Total population: 155,723
> Per capita income: $129,193
> Unemployment rate: 3.2%

Midland has been the second fastest growing metro area over the last four years. This growth rate has been supported by both a healthy birth rate and strong net migration. The population grew nearly 10% as a result of migration from 2010 to 2014. The metro area’s above average share of 20-40 year olds likely contributed to the birth rate, as well as helped invigorate the local economy. Like several other fast-growing metro areas, Midland is at the center of a regional oil boom. The vibrant economic activity has attracted so many new residents that the area has had to deal with housing shortages.

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1. The Villages, FL
> Population growth (2010-2014): 21.3%
> Total population: 107,056
> Per capita income: $18,739
> Unemployment rate: N/A

Florida’s largest retirement community, The Villages, has been the fastest growing metro area in the country over the last four years. Its 21.3% population growth rate over that period was nearly twice as fast as the next fastest growing metro area. The town was started in the 1980s by billionaire H. Gary Morse as a community for wealthy retirees aged 55 and older. As of 2013, more than 50% of the area’s population was 65 years or older compared with the national share of that age group of about 14%. The area’s increasingly fast pace population growth has been supported by the tailwind of an aging U.S. population as the baby boomer generation has started to enter retirement age.

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