SAN ANTONIO (Texas News Radio) — Texas metropolitan areas continue their rapid growth, with four Texas counties seeing the largest numerical growth and four other Texas counties seeing the largest percentage growth.

Figures released by the Census Bureau Thursday show Texas having the most number of counties and metropolitan areas in nearly every growth category.

In year-over-year change to population growth, Harris County was best in Texas and third best overall in numerical growth, gaining over 34,000 people in that time.  Collin County was right behind, adding just under 33,000 people.  Tarrant and Bexar counties were eighth and ninth overall, each gaining over 27,000 new residents.

Comal County saw the second-largest percentage growth in the country among counties with a population of at least 20,000, with a 5.4 percent increase in residents.  Kaufman County was third with a 4.7 percent gain in population, while Midland and Hood Counties were sixth and ninth, each seeing a gain of 4 percent.

For metropolitan areas, Dallas-Fort Worth saw the largest increase year-over-year in the country, adding nearly 132,000 people.  Houston was third overall, adding nearly 92,000 people, and Austin was seventh with over 53,000 new residents.

By percentage, the Midland area saw the biggest year-over-year growth, up 4.3 percent.  The Odessa area was fifth-fastest growing by population, growing by 3.2 percent.

Since the last census taken in 2010, four Texas counties were among the top 10 in the country for numerical growth.  Harris County is estimated to have added the most people in the country, with over 605,000 people being added.  Tarrant, Bexar and Dallas counties were sixth through eighth in the same time period, each adding over 271,000 people.

By percentage, Hays County has seen the second-largest growth since 2010, seeing the population grow by 41.7 percent.  Comal and Kendall counties were sixth and seventh, each seeing just under 37 percent increases in population.  Fort Bend County was 10th overall, growing by 34.7 percent.

The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metro areas are the only two metro areas in the country to have added over a million people since the last census, each ranking first and second respectively.  Austin also made the list of top 10 metro areas, coming in ninth with nearly 452,000 new residents this decade.

The Austin metro area saw the third-fastest growth in the country, with the population climbing 26.3 percent since 2010.  The Midland metro area was right behind in fourth with a 25.9 percent jump.

Texas’ big 4 metros continue fast growth

All four major metropolitan areas in Texas continue to be fast growing areas and have carried much of the state’s population growth, with Odessa and Midland being the exception to that rule.

Austin has seen the fastest percentage growth of the big four at over 26 percent since 2010, while the other three metro areas have seen strong growth with Houston second, San Antonio third and Dallas-Fort Worth fourth — all in the 17 to 18 percent growth ballpark.

Every county in each of these metro areas has grown both since 2010 and year-over-year from 2017 to 2018.

Top county percentage growth since 2010 (among ‘Big Four’ metros; parentheses denotes metro area):

1. Hays (Austin) +41.7%
2. Comal (San Antonio) +36.8%
3. Kendall (San Antonio) +36.6%
4. Fort Bend (Houston) +34.6%
5. Williamson (Austin) +34.1%
6. Denton (DFW) +29.7%
7. Montgomery (Houston) +29.7%
8. Rockwall (DFW) +28.5%
9. Collin (DFW) +28.5%
10. Kaufman (DFW) +24.5%
11. Guadalupe (San Antonio) +24.5%
12. Waller (Houston) +23.0%
13. Travis (Austin) +21.9%
14. Chambers (Houston) +21.0%
15. Ellis (DFW) +19.9%
16. Parker (DFW) +18.3%
17. Hood (DFW) +18.3%
18. Brazoria (Houston) +18.2%
19. Bastrop (Austin) +17.3%
20. Wilson (San Antonio) +17.0%

Top county percentage growth year-over-year (among ‘Big Four’ metros; parentheses denotes metro area):

1. Comal (San Antonio) +5.4%
2. Kaufman (DFW) +4.7%
3. Hood (DFW) +4.1%
4. Hays (Austin) +3.9%
5. Rockwall (DFW) +3.9%
6. Williamson (Austin) +3.8%
7. Kendall (San Antonio) +3.8%
8. Wise (DFW) +3.7%
9. Waller (Houston) +3.6%
10. Parker (DFW) +3.5%
11. Collin (DFW) +3.5%
12. Ellis (DFW) +3.3%
13. Montgomery (Houston) +3.3%
14. Liberty (Houston) +2.9%
15. Fort Bend (Houston) +2.8%
16. Hunt (DFW) +2.7%
17. Bastrop (Austin) +2.6%
18. Johnson (DFW) +2.5%
19. Chambers (Houston) +2.5%
20. Atascosa (San Antonio) +2.5%

Population change among top 25 Texas metros since 2010 (metros ranked by 2018 Census estimate):

1. Dallas-Fort Worth 7,539,711 (+17.3%)
2. Houston 6,997,384 (+18.2%)
3. San Antonio 2,518,036 (+17.5%)
4. Austin 2,168,316 (+26.3%)
5. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 865,939 (+11.8%)
6. El Paso 845,553 (+5.2%)
7. Corpus Christi 845,553 (+5.8%)
8. Killeen-Temple 451,679 (+11.4%)
9. Brownsville-Harlingen 423,908 (+4.4%)
10. Beaumont-Port Arthur 409,526 (+1.6%)
11. Lubbock 319,068 (+9.7%)
12. Laredo 275,910 (+10.2%)
13. Amarillo 265,947 (+5.6%)
14. Waco 271,942 (+7.6%)
15. College Station-Bryan 262,431 (+14.8%)
16. Tyler 230,221 (+9.8%)
17. Longview 219,417 (+2.4%)
18. Midland 178,331 (+24.5%)
19. Abilene 171,451 (+3.8%)
20. Odessa 162,124 (+18.2%)
21. Wichita Falls 151,306 (even)
22. Texarkana 150,242 (+0.7%)
23. Sherman-Denison 133,991 (+10.8%)
24. San Angelo 119,711 (+7.1%)
25. Victoria 99,619 (+6.0%)

Population change among top 25 Texas metros from 2017 to 2018 (metros ranked by 2010 Census population):

1. Dallas-Fort Worth 7,539,711 (+1.8%)
2. Houston 6,997,384 (+1.3%)
3. San Antonio 2,518,036 (+1.8%)
4. Austin 2,168,316 (+2.5%)
5. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 865,939 (+0.88%)
6. El Paso 845,553 (+0.05%)
7. Corpus Christi 845,553 (-0.16%)
8. Killeen-Temple 451,679 (+1.8%)
9. Brownsville-Harlingen 423,908 (+0.17%)
10. Beaumont-Port Arthur 409,526 (-0.75%)
11. Lubbock 319,068 (+0.78%)
12. Laredo 275,910 (+0.70%)
13. Amarillo 265,947 (+0.37%)
14. Waco 271,942 (+1.3%)
15. College Station-Bryan 262,431 (+1.4%)
16. Tyler 230,221 (+1.2%)
17. Longview 219,417 (+0.38%)
18. Midland 178,331 (+4.3%)
19. Abilene 171,451 (+0.54%)
20. Odessa 162,124 (+3.2%)
21. Wichita Falls 151,306 (+0.08%)
22. Texarkana 150,242 (-negligible)
23. Sherman-Denison 133,991 (+2.1%)
24. San Angelo 119,711 (+0.43%)
25. Victoria 99,619 (-0.03%)

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

Dallas-Fort Worth

2010 population: 6,426,214

2017 population: 7,407,944

2018 population: 7,539,711

2010-2018 change: +1,113,497 (+17.3%)

2017-2018 change: +131,767 (+1.8%)

Dallas

2010 population: 2,366,139

2017 population: 2,622,799

2018 population: 2,637,772

2010-2018 change: +271,633 (+11.5%)

2017-2018 change: +14,973 (+0.6%)

Tarrant

2010 population: 1,809,034

2017 population: 2,057,468

2018 population: 2,084,931

2010-2018 change: +275,987 (+15.3%)

2017-2018 change: +27,463 (+1.3%)

Collin

2010 population: 782,341

2017 population: 971,393

2018 population: 1,005,146

2010-2018 change: +222,805 (+28.5%)

2017-2018 change: +33,753 (+3.5%)

Denton

2010 population: 662,554

2017 population: 835,330

2018 population: 859,064

2010-2018 change: +196,510 (+29.7%)

2017-2018 change: +23,734 (+2.4%)

Johnson

2010 population: 150,934

2017 population: 167,101

2018 population: 171,361

2010-2018 change: +20,427 (+13.5%)

2017-2018 change: +4,260 (+2.5%)

Ellis

2010 population: 149,610

2017 population: 173,636

2018 population: 179,436

2010-2018 change: +29,826 (+19,9%)

2017-2018 change: +5,800 (+3.3%)

Parker

2010 population: 116,927

2017 population: 133,704

2018 population: 138,371

2010-2018 change: +21,444 (+18.3%)

2017-2018 change: +4,667 (+3.5%)

Kaufman

2010 population: 103,350

2017 population: 122,845

2018 population: 128,622

2010-2018 change: +25,272 (+24.5%)

2017-2018 change: +5,777 (+4.7%)

Hunt

2010 population: 86,162

2017 population: 93,927

2018 population: 96,493

2010-2018 change: +10,331 (+12.0%)

2017-2018 change: +2,569 (+2.7%)

Rockwall

2010 population: 78,337

2017 population: 96,877

2018 population: 100,657

2010-2018 change: +22,320 (+28.5%)

2017-2018 change: +3,780 (+3.9%)

Wise

2010 population: 59,127

2017 population: 65,863

2018 population: 68,305

2010-2018 change: +9,178 (+15.5%)

2017-2018 change: +2,442 (+3.7%)

Hood

2010 population: 51,182

2017 population: 58,154

2018 population: 60,537

2010-2018 change: +9,355 (+18.3%)

2017-2018 change: +2,383 (+4.1%)

Somervell

2010 population: 8,490

2017 population: 8,847

2018 population: 9,018

2010-2018 change: +528 (+6.2%)

2017-2018 change: +171 (+1.9%)

Houston

2010 population: 5,920,416

2017 population: 6,905,695

2018 population: 6,997,384

2010-2018 change: +1,076,968 (+18.2%)

2017-2018 change: +91,689 (+1.3%)

Harris

2010 population: 4,092,459

2017 population: 4,664,159

2018 population: 4,698,619

2010-2018 change: +606,160 (+14.8%)

2017-2018 change: +34,460 (+0.7%)

Fort Bend

2010 population: 585,375

2017 population: 766,136

2018 population: 787,858

2010-2018 change: +202,483 (+34.6%)

2017-2018 change: +21,722 (+2.8%)

Montgomery

2010 population: 455,746

2017 population: 572,146

2018 population: 590,925

2010-2018 change: +135,179 (+29.7%)

2017-2018 change: +18,779 (+3.3%)

Brazoria

2010 population: 313,166

2017 population: 362,700

2018 population: 370,200

2010-2018 change: +57,034 (+18.2%)

2017-2018 change: +7,500 (+2.1%)

Galveston

2010 population: 291,309

2017 population: 334,304

2018 population: 337,890

2010-2018 change: +46,581 (+16.0%)

2017-2018 change: +3,586 (+1.1%)

Liberty

2010 population: 75,643

2017 population: 83,809

2018 population: 86,323

2010-2018 change: +10,680 (+14.1%)

2017-2018 change: +2,514 (+2.9%)

Waller

2010 population: 43,205

2017 population: 51,285

2018 population: 53,126

2010-2018 change: +9,921 (+23.0%)

2017-2018 change: +1,841 (+3.6%)

Chambers

2010 population: 35,096

2017 population: 41,399

2018 population: 42,454

2010-2018 change: +7,358 (+21.0%)

2017-2018 change: +1,055 (+2.5%)

Austin

2010 population: 28,417

2017 population: 29,757

2018 population: 29,989

2010-2018 change: +1,572 (+5.5%)

2017-2018 change: +232 (+0.8%)

San Antonio

2010 population: 2,142,508

2017 population: 2,474,274

2018 population: 2,518,036

2010-2018 change: +375,528 (+17.5%)

2017-2018 change: +43,762 (+1.8%)

Bexar

2010 population: 1,714,773

2017 population: 1,958,841

2018 population: 1,986,049

2010-2018 change: +271,276 (+15.8%)

2017-2018 change: +27,208 (+1.4%)

Guadalupe

2010 population: 131,533

2017 population: 159,841

2018 population: 163,694

2010-2018 change: +32,161 (+24.5%)

2017-2018 change: +3,853 (+2.4%)

Comal

2010 population: 108,472

2017 population: 140,790

2018 population: 148,373

2010-2018 change: +39,901 (+36.8%)

2017-2018 change: +7,583 (+5.4%)

Medina

2010 population: 46,006

2017 population: 50,210

2018 population: 50,921

2010-2018 change: +4,915 (+10.7%)

2017-2018 change: +711 (+1.4%)

Wilson

2010 population: 42,918

2017 population: 49,215

2018 population: 50,224

2010-2018 change: +7,326 (+17.0%)

2017-2018 change: +1,009 (+2.1%)

Atascosa

2010 population: 44,911

2017 population: 49,069

2018 population: 50,310

2010-2018 change: +5,399 (+12.0%)

2017-2018 change: +1,241 (+2.5%)

Kendall

2010 population: 33,410

2017 population: 43,984

2018 population: 45,641

2010-2018 change: +12,231 (+36.6%)

2017-2018 change: +1,657 (+3.8%)

Bandera

2010 population: 20,485

2017 population: 22,324

2018 population: 22,824

2010-2018 change: +2,339 (+11.4%)

2017-2018 change: +500 (+2.2%)

Austin

2010 population: 1,716,321

2017 population: 2,115,230

2018 population: 2,168,316

2010-2018 change: +451,995 (+26.3%)

2017-2018 change: +51,086 (+2.4%)

Travis

2010 population: 1,024,266

2017 population: 1,227,771

2018 population: 1,248,743

2010-2018 change: +224,477 (+21.9%)

2017-2018 change: +20,972 (+1.7%)

Williamson

2010 population: 422,679

2017 population: 545,948

2018 population: 566,719

2010-2018 change: +144,040 (+34.1%)

2017-2018 change: +20,771 (+3.8%)

Hays

2010 population: 157,107

2017 population: 214,277

2018 population: 222,631

2010-2018 change: +65,524 (+41.7%)

2017-2018 change: +8,354 (+3.9%)

Bastrop

2010 population: 74,171

2017 population: 84,809

2018 population: 86,976

2010-2018 change: +12,805 (+17.3%)

2017-2018 change: +2,170 (+2.6%)

Caldwell

2010 population: 38,066

2017 population: 42,425

2018 population: 43,247

2010-2018 change: +5,181 (+13.6%)

2017-2018 change: +822 (+1.9%)