Maricopa County Added More Residents Than Any Other in U.S.
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Maricopa County grew more than any other county in the nation between 2016 and 2017, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The county added 73,650 residents, far more than 2nd-place Clark County, Nevada, which added 47,355 residents. Maricopa maintained its position from the previous year of 4th largest county in the nation.
On a percentage basis, however, Maricopa County was far below the 10 fastest-growing in the nation. Maricopa grew by 1.7 percent, whereas 10 other counties—mostly smaller ones—grew by 4.2 percent or more.
The census bureau sliced the stats several ways. Among metro areas, Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale came in at No. 4 in sheer number of new residents, growing by 88,772 in 2017 vs. 2016. Again, smaller cities dominated the growth on a percentage basis.
The statistics, released today, were based on estimates as of July 1, 2017.
Top 10 Most Populous Counties: 2017
| 2017 Rank | 2016 Rank | County | 2017 Population | 2016 Population | Numeric Change | Percent Change |
| 1 | 1 | Los Angeles County, CA | 10,163,507 | 10,150,558 | 12,949 | 0.1 |
| 2 | 2 | Cook County, IL | 5,211,263 | 5,231,356 | -20,093 | -0.4 |
| 3 | 3 | Harris County, TX | 4,652,980 | 4,617,041 | 35,939 | 0.8 |
| 4 | 4 | Maricopa County, AZ | 4,307,033 | 4,233,383 | 73,650 | 1.7 |
| 5 | 5 | San Diego County, CA | 3,337,685 | 3,317,200 | 20,485 | 0.6 |
| 6 | 6 | Orange County, CA | 3,190,400 | 3,177,703 | 12,697 | 0.4 |
| 7 | 7 | Miami-Dade County, FL | 2,751,796 | 2,736,543 | 15,253 | 0.6 |
| 8 | 8 | Kings County, NY | 2,648,771 | 2,650,859 | -2,088 | -0.1 |
| 9 | 9 | Dallas County, TX | 2,618,148 | 2,587,462 | 30,686 | 1.2 |
| 10 | 10 | Riverside County, CA | 2,423,266 | 2,386,522 | 36,744 | 1.5 |
Top 10 Largest-Gaining Counties (Numeric Increase): 2016-2017
| 2017 Rank | 2016 Rank | County | 2017 Population | 2016 Population | Numeric Change | Percent Change |
| 1 | 1 | Maricopa County, AZ | 4,307,033 | 4,233,383 | 73,650 | 1.7 |
| 2 | 3 | Clark County, NV | 2,204,079 | 2,156,724 | 47,355 | 2.2 |
| 3 | 6 | Riverside County, CA | 2,423,266 | 2,386,522 | 36,744 | 1.5 |
| 4 | 2 | Harris County, TX | 4,652,980 | 4,617,041 | 35,939 | 0.8 |
| 5 | 5 | Tarrant County, TX | 2,054,475 | 2,021,746 | 32,729 | 1.6 |
| 6 | 4 | King County, WA | 2,188,649 | 2,155,962 | 32,687 | 1.5 |
| 7 | 8 | Bexar County, TX | 1,958,578 | 1,927,747 | 30,831 | 1.6 |
| 8 | 7 | Dallas County, TX | 2,618,148 | 2,587,462 | 30,686 | 1.2 |
| 9 | 12 | Denton County, TX | 836,210 | 808,299 | 27,911 | 3.5 |
| 10 | 14 | Collin County, TX | 969,603 | 942,453 | 27,150 | 2.9 |
Top 10 Most Populous Metropolitan Areas: 2017
| 2017 Rank | 2016 Rank | Metropolitan Area | 2017 Population | 2016 Population |
| 1 | 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 20,320,876 | 20,275,179 |
| 2 | 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 13,353,907 | 13,328,261 |
| 3 | 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 9,533,040 | 9,546,326 |
| 4 | 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 7,399,662 | 7,253,424 |
| 5 | 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 6,892,427 | 6,798,010 |
| 6 | 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 6,216,589 | 6,150,681 |
| 7 | 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 6,158,824 | 6,107,433 |
| 8 | 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 6,096,120 | 6,077,152 |
| 9 | 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 5,884,736 | 5,795,723 |
| 10 | 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 4,836,531 | 4,805,942 |
Top 10 Largest-Gaining Metropolitan Areas (Numeric Increase): 2016-2017
| 2017 Rank | 2016 Rank | Metropolitan Area | 2017 Population | 2016 Population | Numeric Change |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 7,399,662 | 7,253,424 | 146,238 |
| 2 | 2 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 6,892,427 | 6,798,010 | 94,417 |
| 3 | 3 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 5,884,736 | 5,795,723 | 89,013 |
| 4 | 4 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 4,737,270 | 4,648,498 | 88,772 |
| 5 | 11 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 6,216,589 | 6,150,681 | 65,908 |
| 6 | 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 3,867,046 | 3,802,660 | 64,386 |
| 7 | 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 4,580,670 | 4,523,653 | 57,017 |
| 8 | 8 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 2,509,831 | 2,453,333 | 56,498 |
| 9 | 9 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 2,115,827 | 2,060,558 | 55,269 |
| 10 | 7 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 3,091,399 | 3,036,525 | 54,874 |
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
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