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       Large Suburban Cities in West Are Fastest-Growing,
                     Census Bureau Reports

  Large suburban cities in the West, led by Gilbert, Ariz., dominated the
list of America's fastest-growing cities, according to population
estimates released today by the U. S. Census Bureau. Between April 1,
2000, and July 1, 2002, Gilbert was the fastest-growing of 242 cities with
populations of 100,000 or more.

  In addition to the estimates for large cities, the Census Bureau also
released tabulations for the first time since Census 2000 for all of
America's 19,451 incorporated places, as well as its minor civil
divisions. Cities with populations of 10,000 or more were ranked within
their states.

  Gilbert, south of Phoenix, grew by 23 percent, to a total of 135,005
residents. Rounding out the top five fastest-growing large cities were
North Las Vegas (18 percent) and Henderson (17 percent) in Nevada, and
Chandler (14 percent) and Peoria (13 percent) in Arizona.  (See Table 1.)

  Gilbert, Chandler and Peoria are in Maricopa County, Ariz., and all
three cities were among the 10 fastest-growing from 1990 to 2000. North
Las Vegas and Henderson are in Clark County, Nev., and also were among the
top five fastest-growing places in the 1990s.

  While cities in Arizona, Nevada and California dominated the list of
fastest-growing places, Joliet, Ill., ranked 10th with an 11.4 percent
rate of growth.

  The estimates show no change in the rankings of the 10 largest cities
since Census 2000.  Of the 10 largest cities, Phoenix (3.8 percent) and
San Antonio (3.7 percent) grew the fastest from 2000 to 2002, followed by
San Diego (3 percent), Houston (2.9 percent) and Los Angeles (2.8
percent). (See Table 2.)

  The estimates are based on Census 2000. They were updated using
administrative records. Incorporated places include cities, towns,
villages and boroughs in most states. Most minor civil divisions for which
the Census Bureau produces population estimates are towns and townships in
the Northeastern and some Midwestern states. For more information about
geographic areas for which the Census Bureau produces population
estimates, see
<http://www.census.gov/popest/geographic/estimatesgeography.php>.
  

Table 1: 10 Fastest-Growing Cities (100,000 or More Population) from April 1, 2000,
to July 1, 2002

Table 2: 10 Largest U.S. Cities as of July 1, 2002

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