Harris County Loses Top Spot On U.S. Population Growth Rankings

HOUSTON, TX — All streaks must at some point end, and Houston's reign as the nation's top area for population growth did so in 2016: It's now number two.

It was a long run — eight years — but Harris County gained only about 56,000 people last year, a 37 precent decrease compared to 2015's figure. Maricopa County, Arizona, took over the number one position from Houston by gaining nearly 81,400 new residents, according to U.S. Census data.

"I expected the numbers to come in a lot lower," Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research for the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development organization, said, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. "That we had any in-migration when the region was losing jobs is remarkable."

Despite the decline, Harris County came in second in overall growth in the nation, an achievement attributed to people moving here from abroad and birth statistics.

Jankowski said that the growth in foreign residents might include U.S. citizen laid off from oil and gas firms with foreign operations and those who rotated to headquarters in Houston when their companies downsized and reduced expenses.

"But frankly, people are still coming here, and it makes no difference, they see it as a place of opportunity regardless of the oil and gas industry," he said. "After a while it starts to feed on itself. … the international community is so large here that it's going to continue to grow regardless of what's happening elsewhere in the economy."

In addition to the Harris County declines, the Houston metropolitan region, which includes The Woodlands and Sugar Land, also experienced a reduction in the number of new residents: 125,000 new people moved to the area in 2016, the lowest number in at least the past four years.

— Image: Hardhatters.com