Eight of the nation’s 15 most rapidly growing large cities are located in Texas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The survey evaluated cities with populations of 100,000 people or more.
New Orleans ranked first with a total population of 360,740 or more people, a 4.9% increase between the survey period of April 1, 2010 through July 1, 2011. That growth is attributed to the long-term repopulation of the city after Hurricane Katrina.
Texas cities rounded out the top seven largest growing cities, with Round Rock, which experienced a 4.8% population jump, ranking second, followed by Austin, Plano, McKinney and Frisco—all of which saw their populations increase by 3.8%.
Denton, Texas, meanwhile, ranked seventh with a 3.4% hike in population.
McAllen, Texas, and Carrollton made up the top 15, with both cities growing 3% in the surveyed period.
“These estimates provide our first look at how much the total population has changed in each of our nation’s cities since we conducted the 2010 Census,” said Robert Groves, Census Bureau director. “These numbers provide further evidence of a continuation of the trend of rapid population growth in Texas we observed between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.”
Cities in Central Texas hit new landmarks, with Round Rock’s population reaching 100,000 people and nearby Austin reaching a population of 800,000 people.
