Arizona Has Nation's Fastest Growing County - 3/28/2007 - Real Estate House Home Condo

Arizona Has Nation's Fastest Growing County

by Lew Sichelman

The huge jump is greater than the population of all but 15 U.S. cities. Indeed, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has 3.8 million residents, making it the country's fourth largest county.

"The dramatic increase in Maricopa County's population is the main reason Arizona became the nation's fastest-growing state between 2005 and 2006," Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said. Population estimates released in December projected that the county added nearly three million residents since the 1970 census, a number Kincannon called "remarkable."

According to the nation's bean counter, Harris County, Texas, had the second largest numeric increase between 2000 and 2006, gaining 486,000 people and bringing the total population to 3.9 million. Riverside, CA (481,000), Los Angeles (429,000), and Clark, NV (402,000), rounded out the top five county gainers.

Of the ten counties that added the largest number of residents during the six-year period, three were in Texas (Harris, Tarrant and Collin), three in California (Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino), and one each were in Georgia (Gwinnett) and Illinois (Will). Of the 20 counties with the largest numerical gains, 19 were located in the South or West.

Los Angeles continues to be the most populous county in the nation, with 9.9 million residents as of July 1, 2006. Cook, IL, is the next largest with 5.3 million inhabitants, followed by Harris, TX, and Maricopa, AZ.

Of those counties or county equivalents that experienced declining populations, Orleans Parish in Louisiana, which was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina, had the largest population loss during the six-year period. Orleans lost 261,000 residents, dropping its population to 223,000.

In contrast, the second biggest "loser" was Wayne County, MI, which lost 89,000 residents. Cook County, IL, the second largest in the country, saw its population decline by 88,000. The populations in Wayne and Cook declined to 2 million and 5.3 million, respectively.

Also noteworthy is that of the ten counties that lost at least 10 percent of their population between 2000 and 2006, half were in Louisiana. St. Bernard Parish saw its population drop by an amazing 76.9 percent, while Orleans Parish lost 53.9 percent of its people.

Florida's Flagler County, which is located along the Atlantic Coast between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, has been the nation's fastest-growing county since the Census 2000. It's population has grown 66.7 percent during the six year period to 83,000.

Kendall, IL (61.7 percent), and Rockwall, TX (60.5 percent), were the second and third fastest-growing counties.

Interestingly, three of the ten fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2006 were all in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA, metropolitan area: Forsyth, ranking fifth with 53.4 percent growth; Henry, ranking eighth at 49.2 percent; and Paulding, ninth at 48.9 percent.

Among the 20 fastest-growing counties with more than 10,000 people, 13 were in the South, four in the West and three in the Midwest.

Here are some other highlights from the most recent Census Bureau estimates:

 

• Between 2005 and 2006, half the top ten numeric gainers between 2005 were in Texas -- Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and Dallas. Maricopa ranked first, though, adding 130,000 residents.

  Also on the top ten list making the list were the counties of Riverside, CA; Clark, NV; Wake, NC, and San Bernardino, CA.

   

• Chattahoochee County, GA, the home of Fort Benning, grew by 13.2 percent over the period, making it the nation's fastest growing county on a percentage basis. Percentage wise, the other biggest gainers were Pinal, AZ.; Kendall, IL; Rockwall, TX; Flagler, FL; Pearl River, MS; Lyon, NV; Paulding, GA; Ascension Parish, LA, and Sumter, FL.

   

• Georgia had a nation-leading 14 counties among the 100 fastest-growing counties. Texas followed with 13. Florida had 12.