Texas dominates Census list of fastest-growing U.S. cities

WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- Seven of the fastest-growing cities in the United States are in Texas, including three near the capital, Austin, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.

San Marcos, 29 miles southwest of Austin and 47 miles northeast of San Antonio, grew 8 percent between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, bringing its population to 54,076 people. That made it the fastest-growing city of 50,000 or more.

The Dallas suburb of Frisco was in second place, with a population that grew 6.5 percent to 136,791. Cedar Park and Georgetown, both near Austin, were also in the top 10; and Odessa, McKinney near Dallas, and the Houston suburb of Pearland were in the top 15.

The south and west dominated the list. Utah had two cities, South Jordan and Lehi, in the top 10 and Arizona had two, the Phoenix suburbs of Goodyear and Gilbert, in the top 15.

The Census said that 76 percent or 14,824 of the 19,508 incorporated places in the country had populations of less than 5,000 in 2013. Only 4 percent or 746 had more than 50,000 people.

Fourteen cities, six in the west, four in the south and four in the midwest, crossed the 50,000 mark during the year.