Looking to find the fastest growing cities in the country? Consider a move to Texas.
The Lone Star state took up eight of the top 15 spots on a U.S. Census Bureau examination of the fastest-growing cities by percentage change in 2023. And seven of the top 15 by numeric change were in the state as well.
Southern living, on the whole, is becoming a lot more popular with people, as 13 of the 15 fastest growing cities were below the Mason-Dixon line.
Celina, Texas, just outside of Dallas, topped the list of fastest-growing cities with a population of 20,000 or more, seeing a gain of 26.6% last year. That’s more than 53 times the national average growth of 0.5%. In terms of pure numbers, San Antonio got the nod, with just shy of 22,000 people moving in last year.
In terms of the nation’s largest cities, the list is about what you’d expect, with big metro areas dominating. There was a bit of shuffling as Jacksonville, Fla. moved ahead of Austin, Texas and Fort Worth, Texas, surpassed San Jose, Calif., but the top 15 names haven’t changed.
In terms of growth, though, several cities saw increases that were much larger than the national average. Here’s a look at how things lined up:
15 fastest-growing cities by percentage change
- Celina, Texas – 26.6%
- Fulshear, Texas – 25.6%
- Princeton, Texas – 22.3%
- Anna, Texas – 16.9%
- Lathrop, Calif. – 13.6%
- Centerton, Ark. – 11.2%
- Haines City, Fla. – 10.8%
- Georgetown, Texas – 10.6%
- Prosper, Texas – 10.5%
- Forney, Texas – 10.4%
- Kyle, Texas – 9%
- Lebanon, Tenn. – 8.9%
- Fort Mill, SC – 8.8%
- Leesburg, Fla. – 8.7%
- Athens, Ohio – 8.6%
15 fastest-growing cities by population change
- San Antonio, Texas – 21,970
- Fort Worth, Texas – 21,365
- Charlotte, NC – 15,607
- Jacksonville, Fla. – 14,066
- Port St. Lucie, Fla. – 13,169
- Atlanta, Ga. – 12,052
- Houston, Texas – 11,669
- Georgetown, Texas – 9,250
- Celina, Texas – 9,110
- Raleigh, NC – 8,872
- Fulshear, Texas – 8,678
- Washington, D.C. – 8,023
- Denton, Texas – 7,914
- Oklahoma City, OK – 7,589
- Cape Coral, Fla. – 7,540
