Rising by 3.7 percent in the past five years, the U.S. population has seen explosive urban growth in some areas over that same time period, where traditionally, the pace had remained relatively slow. Nothing has shown this more so than a recent population study by 24/7 Wall St., identifying the fastest growing cities by state, and percentages of obvious growth booms. Typically, job markets and housing starts predict population increases. Subsequently, Southern and Western states have been conventionally favored. And which of our fair cities of the Lone Star State outpaced its counterparts in growth? Midland took home the honors, with an overall population increase of 16.1 percent in the study parameters of 2011-2016.
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Midland Takes Home Top Honors as Fastest Growing City in Texas
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Photo: Facebook/Senator Ted Cruz
Domestic migration was recognized as the largest contributor to population growth in 22 of our United States, and in the state of Texas, this was also the case. The other two contributors consisted of natural population growth and international migration (affecting the growth of 18 and 10 cities, respectively). Due to the fact that obtaining employment is usually the first step in relocation, the influx of residents to an area will typically put a downward pressure on that particular city’s unemployment rate, causing some of the cities in the study to have lower unemployment rates than their respective states. This proved to be the case with Midland, having a city-wide rate of 4.2 percent, versus the statewide rate of 4.9 percent. In fact, the total number of jobs that were added in Midland over the study period amounted to 8,100 – an increase in itself of just over 10 percent in the last five years.
Photo: Facebook/Taf Photography
Finding a job, however, isn’t the only means by which a city such as Midland can see substantial growth. Americans also relocate for new relationships, the care of a family member, and to find more affordable housing, to name a few. Midland’s 2016 population was registered at 168,288. In a study reported by the Midland Reporter-Telegram in March of this year, statistics showed that the city’s labor force had actually dropped by 3.5 percent in comparison to February of 2015, suggesting that these, as well as other factors for domestic migration, are in fact stronger cases for growth such as this than the conventional job-hunting premise.
Photo: Pinterest/James Gripp
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the five-year population changes within the limits of 2011 and 2016 statistics to determine which city in each state grew the fastest. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Current Population Survey as well as the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics survey and Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Midland’s determination of having that title wasn’t merely luck-of-the-draw. Be it retirement, love, great housing rates, or that it’s just simply a wonderful West Texas city in which to live, Midland took home top honors for Texas, and that’s not such a bad record to hold in a state where everything’s usually recognized as being bigger.
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