The US Census Bureau just released its 2018 population estimates ahead of its formal census in 2020. Areas poised to experience growth include oil towns in Texas, cities and suburbs in Utah and Boise ID due to an influx of cost-crunched Californians.
Census Bureau population estimates sync up with data produced by Indeed, an American worldwide employment-related search engine for job listings. Indeed data points to population changes from 2017-2018. Of the 383 metros analyzed, no mountain metros indicated significant population growth.
According to Jed Kolke, chief economist with Indeed, domestic migration boosts lower-density suburbs and medium-lower sized metros while dense urban counties lose on domestic migration. Dense urban counties depend heavily on international migration.
In 2018, medium sized metros (250,000 – 999,000 people) grew faster than large metros of one million and up for the first time since 2007. Nine of fifty-one million-plus metros, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, lost population in 2018 and ten more, including San Francisco, Miami and Boston, would have lost population without international migration.
You’ll note from this list of places which gained in population that there was a small rural uptick and that suburbs and mediums sized metros grew the fastest in 2018.
– Midland TX 4.3% growth
– Myrtle Beach SC 3.8% growth
– St. George UT 3.5& growth
– Lakeland-Winter Haven FL 3.2% growth
– Odessa TX 3.2% growth
– The Villages FL 3.1% growth
– Greeley CO 3.0% growth
– Boise City ID 2.9% growth
– Bend-Richmond OR 2.8% growth
– Provo-Orem UT 2.6% growth
Since 2010, the fastest growing metros with populations of 500,000+ include, according to Indeed:
- 2010 – Colorado Springs CO
- 2011 – Austin-Round Rock TX
- 2012 – Austin – Round Rock TX
- 2013 – Austin-Round Rock TX
- 2014 – Austin – Round Rock TX
- 2015 – Cape Coral – Fort Myers FL
- 2016 – Cape Coral – Fort Myers FL
- 2017 – Lakeland – Winter Haven FL
- 2018 – Lakeland – Winter Haven FL
