San Diego is growing slower than the country's biggest cities
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San Diego is holding its ground as the eighth most populous city in the country with more than 1.4 million residents, new census data shows.
Why it matters: The city had the second slowest population growth last year of the country's 15 most populous, as the high cost of living continues to restrain the region's growth.
- Austin, Texas, grew slower than San Diego, and Philadelphia and Dallas grew at roughly the same rate.
By the numbers: San Diego grew by about 9,900 people between 2023 and 2024, a 0.7% increase.
- That will be somewhat welcome news in a city where the population has been stagnant over the last decade and perpetual growth is expected to end.
- The San Diego metro area grew about 1% between 2023 and 2024, exceeding the city's 0.7% growth rate.
Between the lines: The county outpacing the city's growth rate is a bad trend for a region that's counting on meeting climate change mitigation goals by breaking the car dependence created by its sprawling development pattern.
- State carbon emission-reduction goals call for the San Diego region to cut its per capita carbon footprint from car travel 19% by 2035.
- The region's strategy for reaching those goals calls for concentrating jobs and housing in the already-developed urban core.
The big picture: Major U.S. cities are continuing to get bigger, particularly in Texas and Florida.
- It's another sign of fast growth in the Sun Belt despite the climate risks.
- Charlotte, North Carolina and Fort Worth, Texas are the fastest-growing major cities.
- New York saw the largest population increase last year, followed by Houston and Los Angeles.
Context: Population change reflects in-and-out migration, births and deaths.