New York, Houston and Dallas are among the top three fastest-growing metro areas in the country, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
Why It Matters
Population growth of U.S. metro areas was faster between 2023 and 2024 than in the previous year, and it outpaced growth on the national level, the new data found. Some places experienced population gains following declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Such growth may have significant effects on future urban development, economic dynamics and policy planning.
What To Know
Between July 2023 and July 2024, the metro area of New York City and New Jersey’s Newark and Jersey City grew by 213,403 residents. At the same time, in Texas, the Houston-Pasadena-the Woodlands area grew by 198,171, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area jumped by 177,922.
Here are the top 10 U.S. metro areas by numeric growth, with the number of residents they added:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York and New Jersey: 213,403
- Houston-Pasadena-the Woodlands, Texas: 198,171
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 177,922
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida: 123,471
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, Washington, D.C., and Virginia: 90,608
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona: 84,938
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida: 75,969
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia: 75,134
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois: 70,762
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington: 66,666
In its report, the bureau also listed the top 10 U.S. metro areas by percent growth, illustrating the rate of population increase.
Between July 2023 and July 2024, Ocala, Florida, grew by 4 percent—the highest in the country.
Florida’s Panama City-Panama City Beach area and South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach area followed with 3.8 percent each.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida, grew by 3.5 percent. In Utah, the Provo-Orem-Lehi area increased by 3 percent, as did the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley area in Alabama.
Port St. Lucie, Florida, jumped 2.9 percent, followed closely by Texas’ Midland and Odessa, which both grew by 2.8 percent. Spartanburg, South Carolina, closed out the list with 2.7 percent.
According to researchers, immigration contributed to this growth. “All of the nation’s 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas—up from 2.2 million between 2022 and 2023,” the bureau reported.
A recent Migration Policy Institute study found that immigration was the sole driver of the United States’ population growth in a single year for the first time since records began.
What People Are Saying
Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Division, said: “Increasingly, population growth in metro areas is being shaped by international migration. While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas.”
Eric Ruark, the director of research and sustainability at NumbersUSA, previously told Newsweek: “Whether one acknowledges it or not, the debate over immigration is ultimately a question about how much the United States is going to grow in future years. Those who defend the status quo, or call for increased immigration, are essentially arguing that the United States population must grow in perpetuity, and that present-day Americans have little to no say in the matter. The plain fact is that immigration policies will determine America’s demographic future. Whatever those policies are, they should be the result of vigorous and open debate and reflect the will of the American people. Not imposed on the citizenry by narrow special interests.”
Stuart Anderson, the executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, told Newsweek in October: “If you look over the past five years, without immigrants and their children, there would have been no labor-force growth in the United States. Without labor-force growth, it’s very difficult for a country to have economic growth, and without economic growth, living standards in a country stagnate and potentially even decline.”
What Happens Next
President Donald Trump‘s administration, which began in January, has pushed for less immigration and more births. It remains to be seen what effects its hard-line immigration agenda, which includes mass deportations, will have on American cities.
