Everything’s bigger in Texas—especially the population.
For the second year in a row, two Texas metropolitan areas are leading the country in terms of growth. The Dallas-Fort Worth area added 152,598 residents between July 2022 and July 2023, according to new data from the Census Bureau. Right behind it was the Houston metro area, which saw another 139,789 people move to town.
The Texas cities led the metro growth category by a wide margin. Metro Atlanta placed third in the list, with another 68,585 residents.
Even with the big population jumps, the Texas cities are nowhere close to the most populous U.S. Metro areas. The area encompassing New York, Newark and Jersey City, unsurprisingly, is tops with just under 19.5 million people. The greater Los Angeles area has 12.8 million and Chicago boasts 9.3 million.
Another state that eschews state income tax proved popular with Americans on the move: Florida. Three of the Top 10 metro growth areas were in the Sunshine State—and in terms of overall percentage growth, Florida had four of the five fastest growing metro areas. In fact, the Census Bureau added, 96% of Florida’s 67 counties saw population gains last year, with only three seeing a smaller number.
Los Angeles County saw some of the biggest population declines, with 24,687 people leaving the Southern California area. The counties around Chicago, Miami and the Queens and Bronx boroughs of New York City saw big outward migration as well.
Here’s a look at the 10 largest metro growth areas last year, as judged by numeric population growth:
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas – 152,598
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas – 139,789
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga – 68,585
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla – 54,916
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla – 51,622
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC – 50,458
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX – 50,105
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz. – 49,240
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas – 48,071
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. – 43,387
