Everyone In the U.S. Is Moving To Maricopa County

PHOENIX — Census Bureau data released Thursday shows Maricopa County is the fastest growing area in the nation for the third year in a row.

Maricopa County added 81,244 people from July 2017 to June 2018 throughout its cities, which include Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale. The increase means the county is ranked fourth most-populated in the U.S.

“Arizona is open for opportunity — and the word is out,” Gov. Ducey posted on Facebook:

Overall, the southern and western United States are home to the counties that experienced the largest increases in population, according to the new 2018 estimates.

The Census Bureau said four of the top 10 counties for population growth were in Texas. Just over 55 percent of all U.S. counties had a population gain from 2017 to 2018. And while nearly 56 percent of U.S. counties had a natural increase in population in 2018, that figure was down from the previous year.

According to the Census estimates, in Maricopa county, the population increased between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018. Maricopa county ranked first for numeric growth in Arizona. The Census Bureau estimates some 3.8 million call the area home.

On the metro level, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area had the largest numeric growth in population, followed by the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area. A natural increase in population — having more births than deaths — was the largest source of population growth in the Dallas area while domestic migration was the largest source for the Phoenix area, the Census Bureau said.

“One interesting trend we are seeing this year is that metro areas not among the most populous are ranked in the top 10 for population growth,” Sandra Johnson, a demographer at the Census Bureau, said in a press release.

According to the Census, the top 10 most populous counties for 2018 are:

Los Angeles County, California
Cook County, Illinois
Harris County, Texas
Maricopa County, Arizona
San Diego County, California
Orange County, California
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Dallas County, Texas
Kings County, New York
Riverside County, California

The top 10 counties for numeric growth between 2017 to 2018 are:

Maricopa County, Arizona
Clark County, Nevada
Harris County, Texas
Collin County, Texas
Riverside County, California
King County, Washington
Orange County, Florida
Tarrant County, Texas
Bexar County, Texas
Hillsborough County, Florida

The top 10 most populous metropolitan areas in 2018 are:

New York-Newark-Jersey City
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
Boston-Cambridge-Newton

The top 10 metropolitan areas for numeric growth between 2017 and 2018 are:

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
Austin-Round Rock
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria