Fastest growing US cities are in Texas
HOUSTON (FOX 26/AP) - Of all the cities in the country guess which one has been named the fastest growing in the nation? If you chose Conroe you are correct.
Why is it such a rapidly growing place to live? Well, more people are calling Conroe home for a few reasons. Development and great schools are two of them, according to Conroe Chamber of Commerce President Brian Bondy. Bondy points to Grand Central Park a beautiful new sub-division that’s still under construction in Conroe, and as they say, if you build it they will come.
People are certainly coming to Conroe in droves. Lovely Lake Conroe is absolutely luring lots of new residents who want to boat, fish, swim and play where they live.
From July 2015 to July 2016 Conroe grew by 7.8 percent to more than 82,000 people according to the U.S. Census.
There are actually four Texas cities in the top five slots on the list. Right after Conroe is Frisco, then McKinney, both are near Dallas and Georgetown near Austin is number five when it comes to the fastest growing cities in the country.
"It is very exciting. A couple of reasons why it’s happening? Number one, our economic development and city leader folks are really working together to make sure we are attracting companies offering primary jobs.
People who live here can work here and they don’t have to leave the area," says Bondy.
"There’s jobs and the homes are available and they’re not as expensive as other places. It’s just a great place to live and we love it here," adds Conroe resident Ella Hodges.
Conroe ISD is the largest employer, and speaking of jobs a company called ICOTEX that manufactures parts for forklifts will hire dozens of people when it opens in Conroe in July.
As for Houston’s ranking on the U.S. Census, Houston is the 4th most populous city with more than 2.3 million people. The Bayou City comes in right behind New York, LA and Chicago.
League City made the top ten fastest-growing cities in Texas. It was the lone city to cross the 100,000 population threshold, reaching 102,010 in 2016.
"Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S. region," said demographer Amel Toukabri of the bureau's population division.
Since the 2010 Census, the populations of large southern cities grew by an average of 9.4 percent, while cities in the West grew by 7.3 percent. Northeastern cities showed 1.8 percent growth, while populations of Midwestern cities grew by 3.0 percent.
Four cities in the West were among the top 15: Bend, Oregon; Buckeye, Arizona; Lehi, Utah; and Meridian, Idaho. One Midwestern city, Ankeny, Iowa, made the top 15, while the Northeast was shut out.
New York remains the largest U.S. city by a wide margin, its population of 8.5 million people being more than twice that of the 4 million of runner-up Los Angeles. Chicago trailed in third place with 2.7 million residents, despite a population loss of 8,638.
Phoenix showed the largest one-year numerical population increase of 32,113 from 2015 to 2016.
Only North Dakota and the District of Columbia saw the addition of housing units increase by more than the pre-2007 levels of 1.4 percent. North Dakota housing stock increased by 1.6 percent from 2015 to 1026, while that in D.C. grew by 1.4 percent.