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Most of Nation's 10 Fastest-Growing Counties
in South, Census Bureau Reports
Southern counties dominated the list of the 10 fastest-growing counties
between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2001, according to
population estimates released by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau
today.
Overall, 55 percent of all 3,141 U.S. counties grew since April 1, 2000.
Nine of the 10 counties that have grown the fastest since Census 2000 were
in the South: three in Texas, three in Georgia and one each in
Virginia, Kentucky and Florida.
"Not only are most of the fastest growing counties located in the South
despite the fact the West is the fastest growing region but most of these
counties also are close to the major cities in their respective states,"
said Census Bureau demographer Melissa Therrien.
Despite the predominance of Southern counties in the top 10, it was a
Western county that topped the population-growth list. Douglas County,
located near Denver, had an increase of 13.6 percent during the 15-month
period. Douglas County's rate of increase was more than 10 times that of
the entire country (1.2 percent).
Loudoun County, Va., outside of Washington, D.C., ranked second, growing
by 12.6 percent between 2000 and 2001. Forsyth County, Ga., outside of
Atlanta, ranked third, at 12.1 percent. Two other counties in the
Atlanta area, Henry County (sixth) and Paulding County (10th) also ranked
in the top 10 in 2000-2001 growth.
Three Texas counties Rockwall and Collin, both near Dallas, and
Williamson, north of Austin ranked fourth, ninth and fifth, respectively.
Rounding out the top 10 were Spencer County, Ky., near Louisville
(seventh); and Flagler County, Fla., north of Daytona Beach (eighth).
10 Fastest-Growing Counties in U.S.
by Percentage Increase: April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2001
July 1, 2001,
Rank County Name State Percent Numerical Estimated
Increase Increase Population
1 Douglas Colo. 13.6 23,987 199,753
2 Loudoun Va. 12.6 21,304 190,903
3 Forsyth Ga. 12.1 11,889 110,296
4 Rockwall Texas 11.4 4,903 47,983
5 Williamson Texas 11.2 28,100 278,067
6 Henry Ga. 11.1 13,240 132,581
7 Spencer Ky. 10.8 1,273 13,039
8 Flagler Fla. 10.3 5,132 54,964
9 Collin Texas 10.1 49,728 541,403
10 Paulding Ga. 9.9 8,056 89,734
The 10 counties with the largest numerical population gains between 2000
and 2001 were all in the South and the West. Five were in California (Los
Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Sacramento); two in
Texas (Harris and Collin); and one each in Arizona (Maricopa), Nevada
(Clark) and Florida (Broward). Maricopa County was the largest gainer,
with an increase of nearly 123,000 people, boosting its total population
to about 3.2 million.
The most populous county in the nation was Los Angeles County, with more
than 9 million residents. More people resided in this county than in 43
states. Los Angeles County had the second highest numerical increase about
120,000 people.
10 Fastest-Growing Counties in U.S. by
Numerical Increase: April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2001
July 1, 2001,
Rank County Name State Percent Numerical Estimated
Increase Increase Population
1 Maricopa Ariz. 4.0 122,649 3,194,798
2 Los Angeles Calif. 1.2 118,156 9,637,494
3 Riverside Calif. 5.9 90,501 1,635,888
4 Clark Nev. 6.5 88,888 1,464,653
5 Harris Texas 1.8 60,011 3,460,589
6 San Bernardino Calif. 3.3 56,803 1,766,237
7 Collin Texas 10.1 49,728 541,403
8 San Diego Calif. 1.7 48,986 2,862,819
9 Broward Fla. 2.8 45,542 1,668,560
10 Sacramento Calif. 3.7 45,271 1,268,770
Other highlights:
- Among counties with populations of under 10,000, the five
fastest-growing were in Idaho (Teton and Boise) and Colorado
(Custer, San Miguel and Saguache). Teton County, Idaho, experienced
the highest rate of growth 7 percent between April 1, 2000, and
July 1, 2001, from about 6,000 to 6,400.
- The nation's least populous county was Loving County, Texas, with
less than 100 residents on July 1, 2001.
- More than half of the 697 most sparsely populated counties (those
with less than 10,000 residents) were in the following seven states:
Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and
Georgia.
- Three-quarters of the counties in North Dakota (40 out of 53) had
fewer than 10,000 residents.
- Scott County, Minn., had the largest numerical population gain
8,602 among mid- size counties (those with populations between
10,000 and 100,000). Rockwall County, Texas, registered the largest
percentage increase in that size category, 11.4 percent.
The Internet tables show 2000 and 2001 population estimates, rankings
and components of change for all counties. The population estimates are
based on population counts from Census 2000 carried forward with
administrative data and estimates for births, deaths and net migration.
The introduction of Census 2000 as the base for population estimates
combined with matters identified during the processing of administrative
records data used to generate the estimates raise some uncertainty about
the exact level of population change since April 1, 2000. For details,
visit the Internet page referred to in the editor's note.
available free from Adobe.
