{"id":6122,"date":"2026-05-14T15:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6122"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:31:44","slug":"small-cities-in-big-texas-metro-areas-lead-as-the-fastest-growing-municipalities-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6122","title":{"rendered":"Small cities in big Texas metro areas lead as the fastest growing municipalities in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By MIKE SCHNEIDER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Small cities in big Texas metro areas were the fastest growing municipalities in the United States last year, as smaller communities in the South outpaced the rest of the nation, which has experienced a population slowdown since the start of the immigration crackdown last year, according to figures released Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Alexander: If this is it, how to describe LeBron\u2019s Lakers legacy?<\/a><\/p>\n

Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna \u2014 all part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex \u2014 were the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 fastest-growing U.S. cities with populations of 20,000 residents or more from mid-2024 to mid-2025, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

Fulshear, in metro Houston, was the second-fastest growing U.S. city. The five Texas cities\u2019 year-over-year growth rates ranged from almost 15% to almost 25%.<\/p>\n

In pure numbers, Celina, with only 64,000 people, grew by more residents \u2014 12,700 \u2014 than Seattle and Houston, cities that are 12 times and 37 times larger respectively.<\/p>\n

Small- to medium-sized cities hit a sweet spot between the largest U.S. cities, which were most impacted by the loss of immigrants from the crackdown started last year during the second Trump administration, and anemic growth in small towns, according to Matt Erickson, a Census Bureau statistician.<\/p>\n

Texas cities dominate<\/h4>\n

Nine out of 10 of the largest population gainers in pure numbers were cities in the South because of a healthy job market and its comparative affordability. The biggest numeric gainers were Charlotte, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Celina.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth leaped over Jacksonville last year as the 10th most populous U.S. city, putting four Texas cities in the nation\u2019s top 10 most populous, with the other cities being Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Austin skipped over San Jose for the 12th most populous spot, as Texas\u2019 capital city surpassed 1 million residents for the first time. It is now one of a dozen U.S. cities with 1 million residents or more.<\/p>\n

Seattle makes a comeback<\/h4>\n

Seattle was the only non-Southern city to crack the top 10 in numeric population gains last year, at the No. 5 spot.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court says man who lost leg can sue major logistics company over trucker crash<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many large cities, particularly on the coasts, Seattle lost population during the height of the pandemic a half-decade ago. But recent construction of new housing has helped ease the city\u2019s affordability, making it more attractive for residents to stay in the core city rather than move to farther out suburbs in the metro area, according to the Washington State Office of Financial Management.<\/p>\n

The growth was driven by immigrants, particularly from China and India. International migration accounted for almost three-quarters of the area\u2019s population gains, according to county-level population estimates released in March.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Tight housing market and natural disasters drive population losses<\/h4>\n

The two cities with the greatest rates of population loss last year \u2014 Twentynine Palms, California, by Joshua Tree National Park and Key West at the southern tip of Florida \u2014 were in places with tight housing markets. Their losses ranged from -2.4% to -2.9%.<\/p>\n

In Twentynine Palms, a large chunk of the housing stock has been converted into short-term rentals for tourists heading to the national park. Just under 40% of its housing is occupied by its owners, compared with the national average of 65%, according to Census Bureau figures.<\/p>\n

Hemmed in on all sides by water, the limited housing stock in Key West, as well as some of the highest home insurance rates in the U.S., have driven up housing costs for the Conch Republic. The median price for a home in Key West was $1.3 million at the start of this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.<\/p>\n

Other cities that had some of the biggest rates of population loss last year were hit by natural disasters.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast within weeks of each other in late 2024. Remnants of Helene blew through western North Carolina, leaving behind damaging tornadoes and flooding. Among the cities with the greatest rates of loss were Asheville, North Carolina, and several cities on Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, including Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Largo and Clearwater.<\/p>\n

Read more The world\u2019s reaction to hantavirus is tinged by echoes of something else: COVID<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Small cities in big Texas metro areas are the fastest-growing in the U.S. The Census Bureau reported Thursday that Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna were at the top of the list from mid-2024 to mid-2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSmall cities in big Texas metro areas lead as the fastest growing municipalities in the US - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6122\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Small cities in big Texas metro areas lead as the fastest growing municipalities in the US - 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