Housing Bubble
Large suburban cities in West are fastest-growing
July 12, 2003
Large suburban cities in the West, led by Gilbert, Ariz., dominated the list of America's fastest-growing cities, according to population estimates released today by the U. S. Census Bureau. Between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2002, Gilbert was the fastest-growing of 242 cities with populations of 100,000 or more.
In addition to the estimates for large cities, the Census Bureau also released tabulations for the first time since Census 2000 for all of America's 19,451 incorporated places, as well as its minor civil divisions. Cities with populations of 10,000 or more were ranked within their states.
Gilbert, south of Phoenix, grew by 23 percent, to a total of 135,005 residents. Rounding out the top five fastest-growing large cities were North Las Vegas (18 percent) and Henderson (17 percent) in Nevada, and Chandler (14 percent) and Peoria (13 percent) in Arizona. (See Table 1.)
Gilbert, Chandler and Peoria are in Maricopa County, Ariz., and all three cities were among the 10 fastest-growing from 1990 to 2000. North Las Vegas and Henderson are in Clark County, Nev., and also were among the top five fastest-growing places in the 1990s.
While cities in Arizona, Nevada and California dominated the list of fastest-growing places, Joliet, Ill., ranked 10th with an 11.4 percent rate of growth.
The estimates show no change in the rankings of the 10 largest cities since Census 2000. Of the 10 largest cities, Phoenix (3.8 percent) and San Antonio (3.7 percent) grew the fastest from 2000 to 2002, followed by San Diego (3 percent), Houston (2.9 percent) and Los Angeles (2.8 percent). (See Table 2.)
The estimates are based on Census 2000. They were updated using administrative records. Incorporated places include cities, towns, villages and boroughs in most states. Most minor civil divisions for which the Census Bureau produces population estimates are towns and townships in the Northeastern and some Midwestern states. For more information about geographic areas for which the Census Bureau produces population estimates, see http://eire.census.gov/popest/geographic/estimatesgeography.php.
Table 1: 10 Fastest-Growing Cities (100,000 or More Population) from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2002
| Rank | Place | July 1, 2002 |
April 1, 2000 |
Numerical Change |
Percentage
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilbert, Ariz. | 135,005 |
109,920 |
25,085 |
22.8 |
| 2 | North Las Vegas, Nev. | 135,902 |
115,488 |
20,414 |
17.7 |
| 3 | Henderson, Nev. | 206,153 |
175,750 |
30,403 |
17.3 |
| 4 | Chandler, Ariz. | 202,016 |
176,652 |
25,364 |
14.4 |
| 5 | Peoria, Ariz. | 123,239 |
108,685 |
14,554 |
13.4 |
| 6 | Irvine, Calif. | 162,122 |
143,072 |
19,050 |
13.3 |
| 7 | Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. | 143,711 |
127,743 |
15,968 |
12.5 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, Calif. | 193,919 |
173,566 |
20,353 |
11.7 |
| 9 | Fontana, Calif. | 143,607 |
128,938 |
14,669 |
11.4 |
| 10 | Joliet, Ill. | 118,423 |
106,334 |
12,089 |
11.4 |
Table 2: 10 Largest U.S. Cities as of July 1, 2002
| Rank | Place | July 1, 2002
|
April 1, 2000 |
Numerical
Change |
Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, N.Y. | 8,084,316 |
8,008,278 |
76,038 |
0.9 |
| 2 | Los Angeles , Calif. | 3,798,981 |
3,694,742 |
104,239 |
2.8 |
| 3 | Chicago, Ill. | 2,886,251 |
2,896,047 |
-9,796 |
-0.3 |
| 4 | Houston, Texas | 2,009,834 |
1,953,633 |
56,201 |
2.9 |
| 5 | Philadelphia , Pa. | 1,492,231 |
1,517,550 |
-25,319 |
-1.7 |
| 6 | Phoenix, Ariz. | 1,371,960 |
1,321,190 |
50,770 |
3.8 |
| 7 | San Diego, Calif. | 1,259,532 |
1,223,416 |
36,116 |
3.0 |
| 8 | Dallas, Texas | 1,211,467 |
1,188,589 |
22,878 |
1.9 |
| 9 | San Antonio, Texas | 1,194,222 |
1,151,268 |
42,954 |
3.7 |
| 10 | Detroit, Mich. | 925,051 |
951,270 |
-26,219 |
-2.8 |
Source: U. S. Census Bureau
