Charlotte NC Ranked As A Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities In The Nation

Charlotte NC Ranked As A Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities In The Nation

The Queen City is among the top 20 US cities with relation to population growth in the last decade, according to a recent Rice University analysis of the 2000 and 2010 US Census. Charlotte Metro population increased by 427,590 during the last decade, ranking No. 14. Also in NC, Raleigh ranked No. 20 with a population increase of 333,419.

The nation’s cities with the highest population growth include New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, grew by 1.2 million people in the decade, more than any other US city.

According to Michael Emerson, co-director of Rice’s Kinder Institute, the concentration of population growth in the South and Southwest has intensified this past decade.  Of the top 15 metropolitan areas with the most growth, only New York, LA, Riverside and Seattle are outside the South or Southwest.

Below are the Top 20 fastest growing US metros, ranked by population growth from 2000 to 2010: 

1. Houston 1,231,393

2. Dallas-Fort Worth 1,210,229

3. Atlanta 1,020,879

4. Riverside, CA 970,030

5. Phoenix 941,011

6. Washington, DC 785,987

7. Las Vegas 575,504

8. New York 574,107

9.  Miami 557,071

10.Orlando, FL 489,850

11. Austin 466,526

12. Los Angeles 463,210

13. San Antonio 430,805

14. Charlotte 427,590

15. Seattle 395,931

16. Tampa/St. Petersburg 387,246

17. Denver 364,242

18. Chicago 362,789

19. Sacramento, CA 352,270

20. Raleigh/Cary 333,419