Fastest Growing Counties in the Country?

Houston-area counties among fastest-growing in U.S. in 2014, Census data confirms

Harris County added 104,517 new residents in 2014 — more than any other county in the U.S. — but other Houston-area counties grew at a much faster rate, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Fort Bend and Montgomery counties are among the top 10 nationwide when ranked by percentage growth.

The data comes from the Census' 1-Year American Community Survey results released Sept. 17. The 1-Year ACS results track demographic changes year to year for states, counties, cities, towns and places with more than 65,000 residents. Explore the county-level data with the interactive table embedded below this article. Click the column headers to sort data hierarchically

Fort Bend County's population grew from 652,365 in 2013 to 685,345 in 2014, a growth rate of 5.06 percent, ranking it No. 4 by percentage growth, according to the data. Montgomery County added 19,810 residents, bringing it to 518,947 in 2014. Its 3.97 percent growth rate ranked the county No. 7 nationwide.
Much further down on the list are Galveston, Harris and Brazoria counties, which rank at Nos. 55-57. They grew 2.42 percent, 2.41 percent and 2.39 percent, respectively.

The Houston metro area grew from 6,313,158 residents in 2013 to 6,490,180 in 2014, adding 177,022 new residents — the most of any metro area nationwide. That equates to an average of 485 new Houston-area residents a day, including babies born here. When ranked by percent growth, the Houston area's 2.8 percent rate puts it at No. 9 among large metros and No. 10 among all.

The fastest-growing metro area in Texas was the Midland area, which grew by 7,747 residents to 163,470 residents in 2014 for the third-fastest growth rate of 4.97 percent. The Winchester, Virginia, area northwest of Washington, D.C., came in No. 2, growing by 7,321 residents to 134,221, a growth rate of 5.77 percent, and by The Villages, Florida, area, which grew by 7,294 residents to 114,350 for a growth rate of 6.81 percent.

Texas grew by 1.92 percent in 2014, adding 508,765 residents and growing from a population of 26,448,193 in 2013 to 26,956,958. Texas' 1.92 percent growth rate tied it for the second-fastest growing U.S. state or territory with the District of Columbia, which added 12,444 residents in 2014, growing from 646,449 residents to 658,893 residents. Only North Dakota grew at a faster rate, 2.2 percent, adding 16,089 new residents in 2014 and growing from 723,393 residents to 739,482 residents.

For comparison, the entire United States grew by 0.86 percent in 2014, adding 2,728,217 residents to grow from 316,128,839 in 2013 to 318,857,056 in 2014.

More detailed demographic information from the Census — down to the neighborhood level — is set to be released this coming December.