The fastest growing (and shrinking) U.S. counties
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Texas, Florida and Iowa are home to some of America's fastest-growing large counties, per an Axios analysis of the latest census data.
Why it matters: This zoomed-in view offers a close look at population change within individual states — for instance, there's huge growth around Texas' major cities, but many of its rural counties are shrinking.
Driving the news: Kaufman County (+35.2% more people in 2019-2023 compared to 2014-2018), Comal County (+29.2%) and Hays County (+25.6%) — all in Texas — are the country's fastest-growing counties with more than 100,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019-2023 five-year American Community Survey.
- Robeson County, North Carolina (-12.4%); Hinds County, Mississippi (-8%) and Butte County, California (-7.8%) saw the biggest decreases among large counties.
Zoom in: County-level populations either grew or showed little change across a handful of Pacific Northwest and New England states, including Washington, Oregon and Maine.
Threat level: Some of the country's fastest-growing areas are also among the most vulnerable to climate change.
Between the lines: Although Americans sometimes relocate domestically in search of better jobs, lower costs and so on, international migration is the main driver behind population growth at the national level.
- Migration "accounted for 84% of the nation's 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024," the Census Bureau said in a recent write-up of separate data.
- "This reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023."
What's next: Population trends could be notably affected by President-elect Trump's plan to deport millions of people.
