The background
In a March 14 news release, 60% U.S. counties experienced population growth between 2022 and 2023, with eight of Texas’ biggest counties landing in the top 10 U.S. counties seeing a population rise between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023.
While Harris County led the way here with the addition of 53,788 people, Bexar County was eighth in the country, adding 27,488 residents. Census Bureau officials said Bexar County’s total population rose from 2.06 million in July 2022 to 2.08 million in July 2023.
Dig deeper
Elsewhere in the latest U.S. Census findings, Comal County was one of six Texas counties to be among the 10 fastest-growing Southern counties with a population of 20,000 or more.
Comal grew 5% between 2022 and 2023, according to Census data. Census Bureau officials said Comal County ranked seventh in the nation among U.S. counties with 20,000-plus population, as their population grew from 184,749 in July 2022 to 193,928 in July 2023.
Additionally, the latest Census Bureau data showed the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area ranking ninth in the nation among metropolitan areas experiencing the most annual numeric growth between July 2022 and July 2023. The San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area’s population expanded from 2.65 million to 2.70 million in that timeframe.
What they’re saying
Census Bureau officials said, overall, the South experienced faster growth than other regions of the country between mid-2022 and mid-2023, and that a wide variety of major counties saw population gains in the same time period.
Lauren Bowers, head of the Census Bureau’s population estimates branch, said domestic migration patterns are changing, and their effects on counties are especially evident.
“Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth. Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out west, such as in Arizona and Idaho,” Bowers said in a statement.
