They say everything’s bigger in Texas.
And between 2020 and 2023, that seems to have been true of population growth.
Nine of the 10 U.S. cities and towns where populations grew at the fastest clip during that period are found in the Lone Star State, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on places with populations of 20,000 or more at any point between April 2020 and July 2023.
Celina, Texas, a city about 40 miles north of Dallas, earned the top spot as its population grew by more than 143% between 2020 and 2023. As of July 2020, the city had a humble population of just over 17,800. By July 2023, that number had swelled to more than 43,300, according to Census Bureau estimates.
Residents say Celina is incredibly safe, has excellent economic health and offers an overall great quality of life, according to a 2022 community engagement survey the city sponsored.
Fulshear, Texas, which lies about 30 miles west of Houston, experienced similar growth. Its population more than doubled, from 17,558 in 2020 to 42,616 in 2023.
On the flip side, Big Spring, Texas, had the fastest population decline of -14.8% over the three-year period. But it’s the only Texas city among the 10 U.S. cities and towns that saw the biggest population drops between 2020 and 2023.
While the cities that grew the fastest are fairly concentrated in Texas, places where populations shrank by the largest percentages are spread across eight states, primarily in the South and Western regions. California has three entries, including notoriously expensive San Francisco.
The population growth in many Texas towns may be attributed, at least in part, to the state’s relatively lower cost of living compared with many other states, plus its lack of personal income tax. Texas also ranked No. 3 in the nation in CNBC’s 2024 top states for business rankings.
The state’s population has been growing steadily and faster than nearly any other state since 2000, the Census Bureau reports. Despite its position along the Southern border, domestic migration has played a slightly larger role than international migration in Texas’ population growth, the agency finds.