Research News

Counties: Who's Growing the Most?

Twenty-three counties in the country have seen their population increase by at least 100,000 people since the 1990 census. Most can be found in three states, Texas (seven), California (six) and Florida (three).

These counties, big and small, have had an "in-migration" of people during the last six years. For some like Clark County, Nev., with a 42 percent increase, the population has increased by nearly 300,000. Maricopa County, Ariz. leads all counties in the number of people gained since 1990 with 489,226, a 23 percent increase.

But, counties with smaller gains have also been greatly affected by the population increases. Collin County, Texas, with a population increase of 108,409 has, like Clark County, Nev., experienced a more than 40 percent upswing in the last six years.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, however, most of the counties in its ranking of the top 30 fastest growing counties from 1990-1996 are relatively small counties. Ten of the top 30 fastest growing counties are located in Colorado. Douglas County, Colo., experienced a population increase of 84.9 percent, or 51,256 people, during these six years. Similarly, Elbert and Park counties, Colo., experienced a 68 percent and 61.7 percent population growth, gaining 6,563 and 4,428 people respectively.

If you would like more information on your county's growth, you can call the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Division at 301/457-2422, e-mail them at pop@census.gov.

(Research News was written by Jackie Byers, director of research and Peggy Beardslee, research assistant.)