Visualizing the Fastest-Growing U.S. Counties

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May 12, 2025

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Jenna Ross

The following content is sponsored by BGO

Visualizing the Fastest-Growing U.S. Counties

Key Takeaways

Harris County in Texas was the fastest growing county, growing by nearly 106,000 people from 2023 to 2024.
Seven of the top 25 fastest growing counties were in Texas.
Populations are generally growing the fastest in southern Sun Belt states that experience more sun and warmer temperatures.

On average, U.S. counties grew by 1,000 people from 2023 to 2024. But the level of population growth varied widely from place to place. This chart, in partnership with BGO, shows the fastest-growing counties.

Ranking the Largest Population Increases in U.S. Counties

Using the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, here are the counties that had the largest population growth measured in number of people.

Rank	County	2023-2024 Population Change, Number of People
1	Harris County, Texas	105,852
2	Miami-Dade County, Florida	64,211
3	Maricopa County, Arizona	57,471
4	Collin County, Texas	46,694
5	Clark County, Nevada	44,586
6	King County, Washington	43,398
7	Cook County, Illinois	40,095
8	Broward County, Florida	34,686
9	Montgomery County, Texas	34,268
10	Tarrant County, Texas	32,793
11	Orange County, Florida	32,381
12	Denton County, Texas	31,384
13	Fort Bend County, Texas	31,314
14	Mecklenburg County, North Carolina	30,057
15	Bexar County, Texas	29,548
16	Santa Clara County, California	29,188
17	Wake County, North Carolina	29,050
18	Polk County, Florida	28,706
19	Pinal County, Arizona	27,467
20	New York County, New York	27,435
21	Riverside County, California	26,384
22	Williamson County, Texas	25,840
23	Los Angeles County, California	25,342
24	Kings County, New York	24,694
25	Palm Beach County, Florida	24,574

Harris County, which includes Houston and neighboring communities, had by far the biggest population growth. The primary driver of the county’s growth was international migration. On a domestic basis, more U.S. residents moved out of Harris County than those that moved into the area.

While international migration was the biggest contributor to population growth in most areas, some counties bucked the trend. Domestic migration drove the bulk of population growth in Montgomery County, Denton County, and Williamson County in Texas, along with Polk County, Florida and Pinal County, Arizona.

The only county on the list to see a bigger boost from the natural change in population (births minus deaths) compared to net migration was Kings County, New York.

Preparing for Larger Populations

In general, population growth was concentrated in counties that already had large populations. One challenge of growing populations can be ensuring there is sufficient housing for all of the new residents.

To meet rising demand, BGO is expanding its investment in high-quality multi-family and build-to-rent communities across fast-growing Sunbelt and Western U.S. markets. This includes Phoenix in Maricopa County—now the third fastest-growing county in the country—as well as residential properties in other population growth hubs like Miami-Dade and King County.

Learn what’s moving markets in The Chief Economist newsletter from BGO.

Related Topics: #texas #counties #population #housing #U.S. #Houston #sun belt #BGO

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