LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
Newly
released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that Nacogdoches and
Angelina counties saw their populations increase from 2010 to 2012. Nacogdoches
County's population went from 64,524 to 66,034, an increase of 2.3 percent.
Angelina
County also saw an increase, according to the Census Bureau figures. The county's
population grew by 1 percent, going from 86,771 in 2010 to 87,597 in 2012.
In the
Deep East Texas area, Cherokee County's population also spiked a little.
Cherokee County went from 50,845 in 2010 to 51,206 in 2012, an increase of .7
percent.
Among the
East Texas counties those that lost population from 2010 to 2012 included
Houston (-2.4 percent), Sabine (-3.7 percent), San Augustine (-0.5 percent),
Trinity (-1.9 percent), and Tyler (-1.4 percent).
On a
statewide level, Texas had 11 counties among the 50 fastest-growing, along with
11 among the 50 highest numeric gainers in the period from July 1, 2011 to July
1, 2012. Harris County (Houston) was the United States' third most populous
county. The two most populous counties in the nation were Los Angeles County,
Calif. and Cook County, Ill.
A
majority of the metropolitan statistical areas, micropolitan statistical areas,
and counties were located in or at least near the Great Plains and West Texas,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"After a long
period of out-migration, some parts of the Great Plains ─ from just south of
the Canadian border all the way down to West Texas - are experiencing rapid
population growth," Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's senior adviser
performing the duties of director, said in a press release. "There are
probably many factors fueling this growth on the prairie, but no doubt the
energy boom is playing a role. For instance, the Permian Basin, located
primarily in West Texas, and North Dakota accounted for almost half of the
total U.S. growth in firms that mine or extract oil and gas, during a recent
one-year period."
Midland, Texas, was
the fastest-growing metro area over the July 1, 2011, to July 1, 2012, period,
with its population increasing 4.6 percent. Adjacent Odessa, Texas, ranked
fifth overall, Austin-Round Rock, Texas, was seventh, while two areas in
Wyoming (Casper and Cheyenne), along with Manhattan, Kan., and Bismarck, N.D.,
were also among the 20 fastest-growing metropolitan areas.
All total, 40 of the
50 fastest growing metro areas in the United States in the period from July 1,
2011 to July 1, 2012 were in the South or West. Eight were in the Midwest, and
one was in the Northeast, The last metro area - Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers,
Arkansas-Missouri - straddles the South and Midwest regions.
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