More people moved to Houston than almost every city, data shows

By the numbers: Houston gained 43,217 new residents from July 2023 to July 2024, bringing the city's 2024 population estimate to 2.39 million, according to the data.

• Numerically, that growth is second only to New York City, which saw 87,184 new residents between 2023 and 2024.
• Los Angeles (31,276), San Antonio (23,945) and Fort Worth (23,442) rounded out the top five.

The intrigue: Houston is closer to taking over Chicago as the third-largest metro nationwide, but the Windy City grew in 2024, too.

• More than 22,000 people moved to Chicago in that timeframe, bringing the city's population to 2.72 million — about 330,000 more people than Houston.

Go deeper: While Houston is feeling the boom, the city of Fulshear in the region's western reach was the second-fastest growing city of 20,000 people or more nationwide in that same timeframe, according to the data.

• The city grew by 26.9% from July 2023 to July 2024, ballooning to 54,629 residents.