Montgomery County Ranks 3rd For Population Growth In Maryland

BETHESDA, MD — The southern and western United States are home to the counties that experienced the largest increases in population, according to new 2018 estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. While Montgomery County did not match these counties in growth, the population did increase between 2017 and 2018.

According to census estimates, in Montgomery County, the population increased by 0.4 percent between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018. The estimated population change was an increase of 4,323 people to 1,052,567. It ranked third for numeric growth in Maryland.

The top county for population growth in Maryland was Frederick County, followed by Anne Arundel County, according to census estimates.

On the metro level, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area had the largest numeric growth in population, followed by the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area. A natural increase in population — having more births than deaths — was the largest source of population growth in the Dallas area while domestic migration was the largest source for the Phoenix area, the Census Bureau said.

"One interesting trend we are seeing this year is that metro areas not among the most populous are ranked in the top 10 for population growth," Sandra Johnson, a demographer at the Census Bureau, said.

According to the Census, the top 10 most populous counties for 2018 are:

1. Los Angeles County, California
2. Cook County, Illinois
3. Harris County, Texas
4. Maricopa County, Arizona
5. San Diego County
6. Orange County, California
7. Miami-Dade County, Florida
8. Dallas County, Texas
9. Kings County, New York
10. Riverside County, California

The top 10 counties for numeric growth between 2017 to 2018 are:

1. Maricopa County, Arizona
2. Clark County, Nevada
3. Harris County, Texas
4. Collin County, Texas
5. Riverside County, California
6. King County, Washington
7. Orange County, Florida
8. Tarrant County, Texas
9. Bexar County, Texas
10. Hillsborough County, Florida

The top 10 most populous metropolitan areas in 2018 are:

1. New York-Newark-Jersey City
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
5. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
8. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
10. Boston-Cambridge-Newton

The top 10 metropolitan areas for numeric growth between 2017 and 2018 are:

1. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
2. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale
3. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
4. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
5. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
7. Austin-Round Rock
8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
9. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria