Georgia, Florida Top Census List by Lew Sichelman
With four of the fastest growing counties in the country, Georgia beat out Florida in the latest Census Bureau listing of jurisdictions with the largest increases in new dwellings. Between July 2003 and July 2004, the Peach State was home to four of the 10 counties with the greatest growth rate in terms of housing units, the government reports. Florida had three on the list. It's not terribly surprising that seven of the 10 fastest growing counties are in the Southeast, not when you consider that folks tend to migrate to warmer climes, especially as they grow older. But what is rather startling is that Madison County, Idaho, was second on the list of 10 fastest growers, beating out all four Georgia jurisdictions and two of the three Florida counties. For the country as a whole, the Census Bureau estimates that the United States contained 22.7 million housing units as of July 2004. That's an increase of 1.7 million dwellings, or 1.4 percent, from July 2003. Since Census Day, April 1 ,2000, there has been an increase of 6.8 million units, or 5.8 percent. The Census Bureau estimates are important because they are used in federal funding allocations, as denominators for vital rates and per capita time series, as survey controls, and in monitoring recent demographic changes. With each new issue of July 1 estimates, the estimates for years back to the last census are revised. The Population Estimates Program covers total resident population estimates and demographic components of change -- births, deaths, and migration -- each year. Census also publishes the estimates by demographic characteristics -- age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin -- for the nation, states and counties. In the latest count, Flagler County, Fla., between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, ranked No. 1, with a 13.9 percent increase in dwelling units. Madison County, Id., near Idaho Falls, was second with a 9.6 percent gain, and Loudoun County, Va., outside of Washington, D.C., was third with an 8.2 percent jump. The two other counties in Florida on the top 10 list were St. Lucie, home to Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie between West Palm Beach and Melbourne, ranked seventh with a 7.4 percent increase in housing units, and Sumter, about midway between Tampa and Gainesville, ranked eighth with a 7.3 percent increase. Henry County in Georgia was fourth with a 7.6 percent increase in dwellings. The three other Georgia jurisdictions on the list were Newton, fifth with a 7.4 percent increase; Paulding, ninth, 7 percent, and Fannin, 10th, 6.9 percent. Henry, Newton and Paulding are located in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs, Marietta metropolitan area, but Fannin is situated along Georgia-Tennessee-North Carolina border. In terms of shear numbers, Maricopa (Phoenix) was the biggest gainer, adding 45,000 units over the 12-month period. Harris (Houston) was second with 38,000 new houses, and Clark (Las Vegas) was third with 35,000 more units. Despite Georgia and Florida's dominance at the county level, though, four the five fastest growers on a state-by-state basis are located in the West. Nevada is first with a growth rate of 4.5 percent, followed by Arizona at 3 percent and Utah at 2.6 percent. With a 2.5 percent gain in housing units, Florida was fourth. But another Western state, Idaho, was fifth, also at 2.5 percent. In strictly numerical terms on a state-by-state basis, Florida topped the list of the states adding the highest number of housing units, gaining nearly 200,000 over the period July-to-July survey period. Following Florida were Texas (173,000), California (169,000), Georgia (89,000) and Arizona (70,000). |
