Ten of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the United States were located in the South in 2016, according to a release from the Census Bureau.
Using new population estimates, the census ranked all of the cities in the United States to see which ones grew the fastest, which cities had the largest numeric increase, and which ones were the most populated.
The 15 cities with the fastest-growing population, according to percentage, were Conroe, Frisco, McKinney (Texas), Greenville (S.C.), Georgetown (Texas), Bend (Ore.), Buckeye (Ariz.), Bonita Springs (Fla.), New Braunfels (Texas), Murfreesboro (Tenn.), Lehi (Utah), Cedar Park (Texas), Meridian (Idaho), Ankeny (Iowa), and Fort Myers (Fla.).
Ten of these cities are in the South, including six cities in Texas, two in Florida, one in Tennessee, and one in South Carolina. Texas continues to be home to many of the fastest growing cities, as the state had four cities in the top five that were the fastest-growing in the United States.
"Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S. region," said Amel Toukabri, a demographer at the bureau. "Since the 2010 Census, the population in large southern cities grew by an average of 9.4 percent."
"In comparison, cities in the West grew 7.3 percent, while cities in the Northeast and Midwest had much lower growth rates at 1.8 percent and 3.0 percent respectively," Toukabri said.
While small towns in the South grew by 0.2 percent, small towns in the North and Midwest declined by 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Small towns in the West grew the most at 0.8 percent.
When looking at the raw numeric increase instead of percentages, cities in the South still comprised most of the fastest-growing cities.
Out of 15 cities with the largest numeric increase in population, eight were located in the South. They include San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Miami.
"The Census Bureau study underscores what we’ve known for years; Millennials, just like everyone else, flock to where the career opportunities are, and areas with vibrant and diverse free market economies are proven to have good wages and job opportunities," said David Barnes, director of policy engagement Generation Opportunity. "Because of that, they prefer areas with fewer government-created barriers to opportunity, such as high tax rates and costly regulations."
"Not surprisingly, a common thread among the states that are growing the quickest is that they’ve largely embraced pro-growth policies that enable new markets to develop, allowing young people to relocate," he said. "Policymakers in other states would be wise to follow the lead by enacting similar legislation."