It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the release of the U.S. Census Bureau’s population estimates showing the fastest-growing cities in America. And the District of Columbia clocks in at…No. 12.
D.C. gained 13,303 residents between July 2011 and July 2012, bringing its total population to the oft-quoted 632,323. That puts the city’s growth just behind 11th-place Denver’s (14,980) and ahead of San Jose’s (12,751). New York leads the pack with an increase of 67,058 residents, followed by two of the other top four cities in overall population, Houston and Los Angeles.
That’s no coincidence: The largest cities in America dominate the list of cities by absolute population growth. When it comes to relative growth, it’s another matter. The fastest-growing “large city” in America is San Marcos, Tex., jumping 4.91 percent in population to a grand total of 50,001 residents. In fact, eight of the 15 top cities in this category are in Texas, though you’ve likely never heard of any of them—-the largest of them is McKinney, with just over 140,000 residents.
D.C.’s not on this list—-but don’t take that to mean its rate of growth isn’t noteworthy. In fact, of the 15 cities with the greatest absolute population growth, D.C. has a smaller population than all but one of them (Nashville) and enjoyed a faster rate of growth than all but three of them (Austin, Charlotte, and Denver).
District officials often refer to the more than 1,000 residents the city is gaining every month, and what it means for our economic growth (and our housing crunch). The census report puts that growth in context: Among cities D.C.’s size or larger, we’re one of the fastest-growing in the country.
Here’s the full top 15 list:
