The nation’s fastest-growing county from 2007 to 2008 was part of the metropolis of New Orleans.
According to U.S. Census data released March 19, large metro areas with populations of 1 million or more had 9 of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the country from July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008. The areas include New Orleans, which encompasses St. Bernard Parish (the fastest-growing county) and neighboring Orleans Parish (the third fastest-growing county).
The data estimates the growth of the country’s cities and counties by using administrative records to calculate changes to the 2000 Census population after boundary updates, other geographic program changes, and resolution of questions on previous data.
Aside from counties in Louisiana, the southern part of the U.S. in general showed rapid growth. According to the Census Bureau, 71 of the 100 counties with a population of 10,000 or more that showed the fastest population growth were in the south.
The country’s mega-cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago weighed in with hefty populations, especially New York—with 19 million people. Los Angeles has 12.9 million and Chicago 9.6 million. A total of 14 other metro areas have populations of 4 million or more.
Towns in North Carolina and Texas are leading the pack of America’s fastest-growing metropolitan and micropolitan areas overall.
Utah, which was tagged as the fastest growing state in data released in December 2008, also shows population gain in individual cities and counties. St. George, Utah, and Provo-Orem, Utah, were two of the five fastest-growing metro areas.
Detailed information about the Census Bureau’s most recent statistics can be found on their Web site, www.census.gov.
