Phoenix, 2nd-Fastest Growing City, Still 5th Largest

Phoenix added 24,036 residents in the year ending July 1, 2017, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, announced today. That makes Phoenix the second-fastest growing major city in the country, and leaves as the 5th largest.

Phoenix led the nation in growth the previous year, adding 32,000 residents.

Eight of the 15 cities or towns with the largest population gains were located in the South in 2017, with three of the top five in Texas, the Census Bureau said in a statement.

“San Antonio, Texas, tops the list with the largest population gain with an increase of over 24,200 people—an average of 66 people per day between 2016 and 2017,” said Amel Toukabri, a demographer in the Population Division of the Census Bureau. “That’s a growth rate of 1.6 percent. This growth was enough to push San Antonio’s population above the 1.5 million mark.”

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Maricopa County is the fastest-growing county in the nation. And today’s census data shows the Phoenix Metro Area inching up a notch:

“The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro population passed San Francisco Bay Area to become the 11th-largest U.S. metro,” the City of Phoenix said in a statement today. “At its current growth trend, the Valley will likely pass 10th-ranked Boston, Massachusetts and New Hampshire metro when 2018 population estimates are released.”

The most populous U.S.  cities:

1. New York City: 8.62 million
2. Los Angeles: 3.99 million
3. Chicago: 2.72 million
4. Houston: 2.31 million
5. Phoenix: 1.63 million
6. Philadelphia: 1.58 million
7. San Antonio: 1.51 million
8. San Diego: 1.42 million
9. Dallas: 1.34 million
10. San Jose: 1.04 million

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