10 fastest growing U.S. cities

Areas in the South continue to dominate the list. Read on to see if your agency is tapping into markets with growing populations.

(3/31/2008)

The fast-growing areas in the United States are in the Sunbelt, with Texas leading the way, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas cities — Houston, Austin, and San Antonio — also were in the top 10. Experts credit much of the growth in the South to strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the United States. A report earlier this month by Global Insight found that housing prices in the Dallas area were undervalued by as much as 30 percent. Other areas experiencing growth included the New Orleans area, which is recovering from Hurricane Katrina and grew by 4 percent or nearly 40,000 people. During the same survey last year, the population of New Orleans dropped by nearly 290,000 people. Meanwhile, Detroit lost more than three times as many people as any other metro area — its population declined more than 27,300. Other areas losing more than 5,000 people were Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Ga., Youngstown, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y. The 10 biggest gainers: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 162,250 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.: 151,063 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 132,513 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: 120,544 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.: 86,660 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 66,724 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.: 66,231 Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 65,880 Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.: 59,165 San Antonio, Texas: 53,925 The 10 fast-growing metro areas Palm Coast, Fla.: 7.2 percent St. George, Utah: 5.1 percent Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 4.7 percent Gainesville, Ga.: 4.5 percent Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 4.3 percent Myrtle Beach-Conway-N.C.-Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 4.2 percent Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 4.2 percent New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.: 4 percent Grand Junction, Colo.: 3.7 percent Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 3.7 percent

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in not giving up.