As U.S. population growth has slowed over the past decades, the South's population is ballooning, it seems, with Houston topping the list of fastest-growing cities, which was announced Tuesday (July 12).
Researchers from Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University analyzed U.S. census data to determine the 30 U.S. metropolitan areas with the greatest population growth between 2000 and 2010.
1. Houston: 1,231,393 individuals added over past decade
2. Dallas-Fort Worth: 1,210,229
3. Atlanta: 1,020,879
4. Riverside, Calif.: 970,030
5. Phoenix: 941,011
6. Washington, D.C.: 785,987
7. Las Vegas: 575,504
8. New York: 574,107
9. Miami: 557,071
10. Orlando, Fla.: 489,850
11. Austin, Texas: 466,526
12. Los Angeles: 463,210
13. San Antonio: 430,805
14. Charlotte, N.C.: 427,590
15. Seattle: 395,931
16. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.: 387,246
17. Denver: 364,242
18. Chicago: 362,789
19. Sacramento, Calif.: 352,270
20. Raleigh/Cary, N.C.: 333,419
21. Minneapolis/St. Paul: 311,027
22. Portland, Ore.: 298,128
23. San Diego: 281,480
24. Philadelphia: 278,196
25. Nashville, Tenn.: 278,145
26. Indianapolis: 231,137
27. Columbus, Ohio: 224,217
28. Jacksonville, Fla.: 222,846
29. San Francisco/Oakland: 211,651
30. McAllen, Texas: 205,306
