Huge Population Surge In DC: Census Bureau

WASHINGTON, DC — More than 10,000 people flocked to the District between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016, good enough to place D.C. in the top 15 among fastest growing cities in the United States.

D.C. saw its population increase by 10,793 people to 681,170 over that period, the U.S. Census Bureau announced in a new report. That is the 15th largest numeric increase in the nation, just behind Miami, Fla. Phoenix was first on the list, adding 32,113 people in that period.

Overall, much of the increases were seen in cities in the South.

“Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S region,” Amel Toukabri, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s population division, said in a statement. “Since the 2010 Census, the population in large southern cities grew by an average of 9.4 percent. In comparison, cities in the West grew 7.3 percent, while cities in the Northeast and Midwest had much lower growth rates at 1.8 percent and 3.0 percent respectively.”

Conroe city, a Houston suburb, had the largest percentage increase in terms of population of any city in the United States with at least 50,000 people over that time period. It jumped 7.8 percent to 82,286 people.

Image via National Park Service