The U.S. population grew by just 0.2% in 2021, 0.4% in 2022, and 0.5% in 2023 — all historically low growth rates, and the slow pace has been the trend in the past decade at least, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Within the United States, some cities are contributing to this slow pace of population growth, recording population declines, while others are recording strong population growth.
To determine the fastest growing large cities, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey one-year estimates. We listed all 50 metropolitan statistical areas with at least a 10% population growth from 2017 to 2022 in order of smallest to largest growth. Supplemental data on employment in December 2017 and December 2022 as well as unemployment rates came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are seasonally-adjusted figures. Home value data came from the ACS.
While the nation’s population rose by 3.5% from 2017 to 2022, the populations of the cities on the list grew anywhere from 10% to over 40%. One reason could be cheaper housing. Among the 50 cities on the list, 30 had a lower home value than the national median home value in 2022 of $320,900. However, maybe because of the population growth, in 37 of the cities, the median home value grew at a faster pace than the national average. Also, 34 of the 49 cities with data have a lower unemployment rate than the national rate of 3.5%.
The cities on the list include some large metropolitan areas such as the Orlando metro area, the Austin metro area, the Raleigh, North Carolina, metro area, and the Jacksonville, Florida metro area. (Also see: States That Will Grow the Most by 2040.)
In general, the South has the most cities on the list at 33, including 12 in Florida and four in Alabama. The West region has 10 cities on the list, including four in Idaho. Six of the cities on the list are in the Midwest, and only one is in the Northeast.