Texas is the location of three of the top 10 metropolitan areas that gained the most residents last year, according to July 1, 2017, population estimates released Thursday by the the U.S. Census Bureau.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, topped the list of all of the largest-gaining metropolitan areas in the country based on number of people, adding 146,238 residents for a total population of 7,399,662.
“Historically, the Dallas metro area attracts large numbers from both international and domestic migration,” Molly Cromwell, a demographer at the Census Bureau, said in a statement. “Many of the other largest metro areas in the country rely mostly on international migration and natural increase for growth.”
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, was No. 2 on the list, adding 94,417 people for a total population of 6,892,427. And Austin-Round Rock, TX, was No. 9 on the list, adding 55,269 residents for a total population of 2,115,827.
Florida had two metro areas on the top 10 list, which included Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (No. 3), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (No. 4), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (No. 5), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (No. 6), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (No. 7), Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (No. 8) and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (No. 10).
Based on percentage growth from 2016 to 2017, Florida, Idaho and Utah each had two metro areas on a separate top 10 list. That list included St. George, UT, (No. 1, 4% growth to 165,662 residents), Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC (No. 2, 3.7% growth to 464,165), Greeley, CO (No. 3, 3.5% growth to 304,633), Bend-Redmond, OR (No. 4, 3.4% to 186,875), Coeur d’Alene, ID (No. 5, 2.9% growth to 157,637), Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL (No. 6, 2.9% growth to 686,483), Boise City, ID (No. 7, 2.8% growth to 709,845), Provo-Orem, UT (No. 8, 2.7% growth to 617,675), Austin-Round Rock, TX (No. 9, 2.7% growth to 2,115,827) and The Villages, FL (No. 10, 2.5% growth to 125,165).
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA remained the most populous metro area, with 20,320,876 residents. In fact, all of the top 10 most populous metropolitan areas remained unchanged from 2016. Rounding out that list were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA; Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX; Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL; Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD; Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA; and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
The statistics released Thursday show population estimates and components of change for the country’s 382 metropolitan statistical areas, 551 micropolitan statistical areas and 3,142 counties. For more information, see the Census Bureau website.
