U.S. Cities and Metro Areas: Census 2000
Overall, cities expanded rapidly during the 1990s, growing nearly twice as fast as in the 1980s. Western and southern cities grew the fastest, while urban industrial centers in the Midwest and Northeast declined in population. New York remained the country's largest city, however, passing the 8 million mark.
In 2000, 80.3% of Americans (226 million people) lived in metropolitan areas, up slightly from 79.8% (198.4 million people) in 1990. (A metropolitan area is a city plus the adjacent communities to which it is linked economically.) All of the metropolitan areas with populations of at least 5 million grew over the period, ranging from 29% for the Dallas metropolitan area to 5% for Philadelphia. The total population within metropolitan areas increased by 14%, while the nonmetropolitan population grew by 10%.
Top Ten U.S. Cities by Percent Population Change, 1990–2000
Rank | Place name | Population | Change, 1990 to 2000 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 1, 2000 | April 1, 1990 | Number | Percent | ||
1. | Augusta-Richmond County1, Ga. | 199,775 | 44,639 | 155,136 | 347.5% |
2. | Gilbert, Ariz. | 109,697 | 29,188 | 80,509 | 275.8 |
3. | Vancouver, Wash. | 143,560 | 46,380 | 97,180 | 209.5 |
4. | Henderson, Nev. | 175,381 | 64,942 | 110,439 | 170.1 |
5. | North Las Vegas, Nev. | 115,488 | 47,707 | 67,781 | 142.1 |
6. | Athens-Clark County2, Ga. | 101,489 | 45,734 | 55,755 | 121.9 |
7. | Peoria, Ariz. | 108,364 | 50,618 | 57,746 | 114.1 |
8. | Pembroke Pines, Fla. | 137,427 | 65,452 | 71,975 | 110.0 |
9. | Chandler, Ariz. | 176,581 | 90,533 | 86,048 | 95.0 |
10. | Las Vegas, Nev. | 478,434 | 258,295 | 220,139 | 85.2 |
The Ten Fastest-Growing Metropolitan Areas, 1990–2000
Metropolitan area | Population | Change, 1990–2000 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
April 1, 1990 | April 1, 2000 | Number | Percent | |
Las Vegas, Nev., Ariz. | 852,737 | 1,563,282 | 710,545 | 83.3% |
Naples, Fla. | 152,099 | 251,377 | 99,278 | 65.3 |
Yuma, Ariz. | 106,895 | 160,026 | 53,131 | 49.7 |
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex. | 383,545 | 569,463 | 185,918 | 48.5 |
Austin-San Marcos, Tex. | 846,227 | 1,249,763 | 403,536 | 47.7 |
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark. | 210,908 | 311,121 | 100,213 | 47.5 |
Boise, Idaho | 295,851 | 432,345 | 136,494 | 46.1 |
Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. | 2,238,480 | 3,251,876 | 1,013,396 | 45.3 |
Laredo, Tex. | 133,239 | 193,117 | 59,878 | 44.9 |
Provo-Orem, Utah | 263,590 | 368,536 | 104,946 | 39.8 |
U.S. Cities with Population over 100,000 | U.S. Cities | Best Architecture in U.S. Cities |