Fastest Growing Metro Areas in 2026: Top 10 U.S. Metros Ranked

The fastest growing metro areas in the United States are led by Ocala, Florida, which grew 3.4% between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina ranked second at 3.2%, followed by Spartanburg, South Carolina at 2.8%.

This 2026 ranking uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, the latest completed and internally consistent set of metro population estimates. The ranking measures percentage population growth, not simply the number of residents added. That distinction matters because a smaller metro can grow faster proportionally even when a much larger metro adds many more people.

Fastest Growing Metro Areas: Top 10 by Population Growth

The Census Bureau’s 2025 metro population release ranks U.S. metropolitan statistical areas by percentage population growth from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025.

The table below also shows the number of residents added, calculated from the published 2024 and 2025 population estimates. That makes it possible to compare both the rate and scale of growth.

The official Census order should be preserved even where the displayed growth rates look identical. Census publishes the percentages to one decimal place, but the underlying population figures produce slightly different unrounded rates.

For example, Lakeland-Winter Haven grew by about 2.74%, while Punta Gorda grew by about 2.72%. Huntsville also grew slightly faster than Wilmington, and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers slightly faster than Raleigh-Cary.

Ocala Sets the Pace

Ocala’s population increased from 427,995 to 442,660, a gain of 14,665 residents in one year. Based on the published population totals, that works out to approximately 3.43% before rounding.

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach followed at 3.2%, adding 13,244 residents. Spartanburg ranked third at 2.8%, adding 10,928.

These metros show why percentage growth is useful. Each remained below 450,000 residents in 2025, so population gains in the low tens of thousands translated into relatively large annual percentage increases.

The middle of the ranking shows how metros of very different sizes can end up close together.

Lakeland-Winter Haven added 23,356 residents and approached 875,000 people, yet its growth rate was 2.7%. Punta Gorda also displayed 2.7% growth but added only 5,756 residents because it began with a much smaller population.

Raleigh-Cary presents the reverse pattern. It added 36,793 residents, more than any other metro in the percentage-growth top 10, but its much larger starting population meant that increase translated into a 2.4% growth rate.

Together, the 10 percentage-growth leaders added approximately 151,445 residents during the year, based on calculations from the Census population estimates.

A Southern Cluster at the Top of the Ranking

Nine of the 10 fastest-growing metros are in Southern states. St. George, Utah is the only metro in the group outside the South.

Florida has three entries:

• Ocala
• Lakeland-Winter Haven
• Punta Gorda

South Carolina has two:

• Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach
• Spartanburg

North Carolina also has two:

• Wilmington
• Raleigh-Cary

Huntsville represents Alabama, while Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers represents Arkansas.

This concentration describes where growth occurred fastest. It does not establish a single explanation for why those metros grew.

Population change can result from different combinations of births, deaths, domestic migration and international migration. Those components vary from one metro area to another and should not be inferred from the overall population-growth rate alone.

For research focused specifically on population movement rather than total population change, see Real Estate Lynx’s U.S. Migration Trends.

Speed vs. Scale: Ocala and Houston Tell Different Stories

The term “fastest growing” can describe two different things.

A percentage-growth ranking asks: How quickly did a metro grow relative to the population it started with?

A numeric-growth ranking asks: How many additional residents did the metro gain?

Those measures produce very different national leaders.

According to the same Census metro population release, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands added 126,720 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, the largest numeric increase among U.S. metros. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington followed with a gain of 123,557.

Houston added about 8.6 times as many residents as Ocala. Ocala still ranks first by percentage growth because it began from a much smaller population base.

The two rankings therefore answer different questions. Neither should be substituted for the other.

The Fastest Metros Grew During a National Slowdown

Rapid growth at the top of the ranking occurred while metropolitan population growth slowed across the country.

The Census Bureau reported that U.S. metropolitan areas grew from 293,746,059 residents in 2024 to 295,450,885 in 2025. That was an increase of 1,704,826 people, or approximately 0.6%.

During the previous annual period, metro areas had grown by 1.1%.

The slowdown was widespread. Census reported that 310 of the nation’s 387 metropolitan statistical areas grew more slowly between 2024 and 2025 than during the preceding year.

Census identified lower net international migration as an important contributor to the broader slowdown.

That national context makes the top of the ranking more distinctive. Ocala’s 3.4%, Myrtle Beach’s 3.2% and Spartanburg’s 2.8% growth rates were several times the aggregate 0.6% growth rate across metropolitan America.

What the Census Growth Number Actually Includes

A metro’s population-growth rate should not automatically be interpreted as a migration rate.

Under the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 population-estimates methodology, population change reflects multiple components:

• births;
• deaths;
• domestic migration; and
• international migration.

The combination of births and deaths produces natural increase or decrease, while domestic and international migration make up net migration.

The distinction is visible at the national metro level.

Between 2024 and 2025, metropolitan areas collectively recorded negative net domestic migration of 119,205 people. Yet total metro population still increased by nearly 1.705 million because net international migration contributed about 1.209 million residents and natural increase contributed another 613,743.

Those national figures do not establish the growth mechanism for any individual metro in the top 10. Metro-specific component data are needed before attributing growth in Ocala, Myrtle Beach, Huntsville or another market to a particular migration pattern.

The Geography Behind the Ranking

A Metropolitan Statistical Area is not the same thing as the city appearing first in its name.

The Census Bureau’s metropolitan-area glossary explains that an MSA consists of one or more counties associated with an urban area of at least 50,000 people, together with qualifying adjacent counties that have strong social and economic integration with the core.

Commuting relationships are central to those connections.

As a result, the population of the Ocala metro should not be interpreted as the population living only inside Ocala city limits. The same applies to Raleigh-Cary, Huntsville, Wilmington and every other metro in the ranking.

This distinction matters when comparing this article with Real Estate Lynx’s Fastest Growing Cities in the US in 2026. The city ranking uses incorporated-place geography, while this article measures entire metropolitan statistical areas.

For broader research organized around both geographic levels, see the U.S. Cities & Metro Areas hub.

Population Growth Adds Demand, but Housing Supply Shapes the Outcome

Population growth can increase the number of households seeking housing, but growth alone does not determine what happens to home prices, rents or availability.

Housing outcomes also depend on:

• new construction;
• existing inventory;
• household formation;
• incomes;
• mortgage conditions;
• rental supply; and
• local development constraints.

A rapidly growing population does not automatically mean a metro will experience the same housing-cost pressure as another fast-growing metro. A market adding housing supply rapidly may absorb population growth differently from a market where new supply remains limited.

That is why this article remains a population-growth ranking, not an affordability ranking.

Readers who want a combined population-growth and housing-cost analysis can use Real Estate Lynx’s separate 10 Fast-Growing Affordable Metros in the U.S. for 2026.

Why a 2026 Ranking Uses 2024 to 2025 Population Change

The year in the title reflects when the comparison is current. It does not mean the Census Bureau has already measured a complete July 2025 to July 2026 population period.

Vintage 2025 provides the latest completed metro population estimates available for this ranking. It includes estimates through July 1, 2025 and was released for metropolitan and micropolitan areas in March 2026.

Using July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025 figures from the same vintage also protects comparability.

Census revises the post-census population-estimate series with each new vintage. The newest vintage incorporates updated data and methodology and supersedes prior estimates for corresponding dates.

A valid year-to-year comparison should therefore use figures from the same vintage rather than subtracting a 2024 estimate from one Census vintage from a 2025 estimate published in another.

This article uses Vintage 2025 consistently throughout.

How This Ranking Was Built

The primary ranking follows the U.S. Census Bureau’s Top 10 U.S. Metro Areas by Percent Growth: July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025, published as part of the Vintage 2025 population-estimates release.

The ranking method is:

1. use the Census Bureau’s published Metropolitan Statistical Area geography;
2. use July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025 population estimates from Vintage 2025;
3. preserve the Census Bureau’s official percentage-growth rank order;
4. calculate residents added by subtracting the 2024 population from the 2025 population;
5. keep numeric population growth separate from percentage population growth.

The primary ranking is not reconstructed from rounded one-decimal percentages. Where two metros display the same rounded rate, the Census Bureau’s official order is retained.

The second table uses Census’s separate numeric-growth ranking for the same July 2024 to July 2025 period.

No city-limit figures, state-level figures, housing-affordability measures or figures from earlier Census vintages are mixed into the primary metro ranking.

For state-level population growth, see Real Estate Lynx’s Fastest Growing States in 2026.

immediately after the existing state-level link near the end of the section.For the county-level view, see our Fastest Growing Counties in the U.S. in 2026 ranking, which keeps county geography separate from metropolitan-area geography.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest-growing metro area in the U.S. in 2026?

Ocala, Florida ranks first in the latest Census metro population estimates. Its population increased from 427,995 in July 2024 to 442,660 in July 2025, a published growth rate of 3.4%.

Which metro area added the most people?

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas added the most residents numerically, gaining 126,720 people between July 2024 and July 2025. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked second with a gain of 123,557.

Why is Houston not the fastest-growing metro by percentage?

Houston added far more people than Ocala, but it also began with a much larger population. Percentage growth measures the increase relative to the starting population rather than the number of people added.

Which states have the most metros in the percentage-growth top 10?

Florida has three: Ocala, Lakeland-Winter Haven and Punta Gorda.

South Carolina has two: Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg.

North Carolina also has two: Wilmington and Raleigh-Cary.

Are metro areas and cities the same thing?

No. Metropolitan Statistical Areas are county-based statistical geographies built around urban cores and economically integrated surrounding areas. Their populations should not be treated as city-limit populations.

Does fast population growth mean people are moving there?

Not necessarily. Total population change incorporates births, deaths, domestic migration and international migration. A metro can grow through different combinations of those components.

Why does a 2026 article use 2025 population estimates?

Vintage 2025 is the most recent completed and internally consistent Census metro population dataset available for this comparison. It provides the latest completed annual change from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025.

Is a fast-growing metro automatically a good place to move or buy a home?

No. Population growth is only one measure. Housing costs, employment, income, taxes, insurance, transportation, housing supply, neighborhood conditions and individual priorities all require separate evaluation.

Two Different Ways to Read Metro Growth

The latest Census estimates show that metro growth has more than one dimension.

Ocala, Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg stand out because their populations increased rapidly relative to their existing size.

Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth stand out for a different reason. Their much larger populations allowed them to add more than 120,000 residents each in a single year even though they did not rank among the top 10 by percentage growth.

Looking at both measures prevents a common analytical mistake. Percentage growth identifies the metros expanding fastest relative to their size, while numeric growth identifies the metros absorbing the largest number of additional residents.

For readers moving from metro-level analysis to city-limit population changes, the separate city ranking provides the appropriate geographic comparison.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Metropolitan and Micropolitan Population Estimates Release
• U.S. Census Bureau: Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Population Totals and Components of Change, 2020-2025
• U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 Population Estimates Methodology
• U.S. Census Bureau: Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Glossary