There has been a significant migration from small counties to larger metro areas throughout the United States.
Less than half of the 3,143 counties in the United States gained population over the last decade, while around 81% of metro areas grew during that time, according to the most recent US Census report
In 2020, 86% of the nation’s population lived in metropolitan areas, a 1% increase from 2010. The 2020 census also noted that 8% of the population lived in micropolitan areas, a 1% decrease from 2010.
During that same ten-year period, the actual combined population of US metro areas grew by 9%, whereas the populations of micro areas only grew by 1%. America’s ten largest incorporated cities all grew this past decade.
With 47% of US counties gaining population between 2010 and 2020, five counties gained at least 300,000 people.
Those counties were Harris County, Texas; Maricopa County, Arizona; King County, Washington; Clark County, Nevada; and Tarrant County, Texas. Los Angeles County in California retained its status as the nation’s largest county, with the population crossing the 10 million mark.
With the population of around 81% of the nation’s metro area increasing, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land led the largest metro areas in growth. Both areas each grew approximately 20%.
Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston are also two of the nation’s three metro areas to gain around 1.2 million people from 2010 to 2020. Out of all US metro areas, The Villages in Florida grew the fastest, with Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown not far behind.
As reported in April, when the 2020 census numbers were released, Texas experienced the largest increase in population from 2010 to 2020.
In 2020, at least ten states contained populations of ten million or more, comprising more than half of the nation’s entire population. The total population of the US as of April 2020 was 331.4 million, representing a 22.7 million increase from 2010.
Although these numbers may seem like a lot, last decade’s 7.4% increase was lower than the previous decade’s 9.7%. It has been the lowest increase since the 1930s.