Seven of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas are in Florida.
Insider analyzed population estimates from the Census Bureau for the 384 metropolitan statistical areas in the US. We took the percent change in total metro area population from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022, to look at the places with the largest percent increases and decreases.
The Villages, Florida, had the greatest percent increase at 7.5%. The metro area grew by 10,103 to 144,970. The metro area of Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-North Carolina, followed behind The Villages' percent increase. This metro area saw population climb by 5.0% or by 25,340.
According to a recent press release from the Census Bureau, there was population growth for about two-thirds of US metro areas during this time. Population growth for a location can be due to moving-related reasons. It can also be related to other changes in the population, such as more births.
The metro area of Dallas experienced the largest numerical population increase per the press release. It saw its population climb by 170,396 or by 2.2% from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022.
The metro area of Houma, Louisiana, had the greatest percent decline over this time range, with a percent decline of 2.9%, or tumbling by 5,894 people. Two other metro areas in Louisiana were among the 10 fastest-shrinking metros.
