Texas, Florida and Iowa are home to some of America's fastest-growing large counties, per an Axios analysis of the latest census data. This zoomed-in view offers a close look at population change within individual states — for instance, there's huge growth around Texas' major cities, but many of its rural counties are shrinking. Kaufman County (+35.2% more people in 2019-2023 compared to 2014-2018), Comal County (+29.2%) and Hays County (+25.6%) — all in Texas — are the country's fastest-growing counties with more than 100,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019-2023 five-year American Community Survey.

Robeson County, North Carolina (-12.4%); Hinds County, Mississippi (-8%) and Butte County, California (-7.8%) saw the biggest decreases among large counties. County-level populations either grew or showed little change across a handful of Pacific Northwest and New England states, including Washington, Oregon and Maine. Some of the country's fastest-growing areas are also among the most vulnerable to climate change. Although Americans sometimes relocate domestically in search of better jobs, lower costs and so on, international migration is the main driver behind population growth at the national level.

Migration "accounted for 84% of the nation's 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024," the Census Bureau said in a recent write-up of separate data. "This reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023."

highdesert wrote: Sun Jan 05, 2025 7:02 pm I assume that after the terrible Camp Fire (Paradise) that many people left Butte County. And this year the Park Fire also in Butte County was huge. Hopefully 2025 is much better.