The US Census Bureau released new population estimates on Thursday, including data on growth in cities with more than 50,000 people.
WASHINGTON, DC, USA – Boise is still Idaho’s largest city, but most of Treasure Valley’s growth is occurring west of the city limits.
It’s no surprise to anyone watching Interstate 84 during the afternoon commute, but population estimates released Thursday by the US Census Bureau provide some black-and-white numbers to back it up.
Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell are all on the list of the nation’s 15 fastest growing cities between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, with a population of 50,000 or more in 2020.
Meridian, with an estimated population of 125,963 in 2021, ranks 13th in growth with a 5.2% increase from 2020. Meridian recorded the 11th largest numerical increase in the country, with 6,234 inhabitants added in just one year. Meridian is the second largest city in Idaho and Ada County.
Caldwell’s population also increased by 5.2%, to 63,629, from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the estimate. Caldwell, the county seat of Canyon, ranks 14th nationally.
Also in Canyon County, Nampa rounds out the top 15 list. Its estimated population increased by 5% to 106,186.
Boise’s population grew by less than 2,000 people — less than 1% — from 2020 to 2021, when the estimated population grew from 235,829 to 237,446.
Topping the list of the 15 fastest growing cities with a population of 50,000 or more is Georgetown, Texas, a suburb of Austin. Three of the fastest growing cities in the country are in Texas. Five are in Arizona; three are in Florida; one, Spring Hill, is in Tennessee.
The Census Bureau estimates that 129,277,621 people live in the 798 US cities with 50,000 or more residents.
The list of the five most populous cities in the country remained unchanged from 2020: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix.
San Antonio, Texas, the nation’s seventh most populous city, saw the largest numerical population increase with a net gain of 13,626 people. The nation’s largest city, New York, has seen a population decline of more than 305,000 people between 2020 and 2021. However, New York’s population of nearly 8.5 million is still growing. double that of Los Angeles, which is the second most populous city in the country. with approximately 3.8 million people living within the city limits of Los Angeles.
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