The fastest growing city in the United States is Princeton. Not the Ivy League Princeton of New Jersey. Instead, it’s the rapidly growing Princeton, Texas! Princeton is in the far reaches of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, where the population has more than doubled since 2020.
“At the start of the decade, fewer than 18,000 people called Princeton, a mostly rural town about an hour northeast of Dallas, home,” reported The Texas Tribune in May. “But as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the Dallas-Fort Worth region in the years since, Princeton’s population more than doubled. Just over 37,000 people lived in Princeton as of July 1, 2024, estimates … by the U.S. Census Bureau show.”
The U.S Census Bureau reported in December 2024 that Texas had added more residents last year than any other state, an increase of 562,941, with Florida second at 467,347.
Texas is now the second-most populous state with 31,290,831 in 2024, trailing only California (39,431,263).
Only the District of Columbia (2.2 percent) and Florida (2.0 percent) grew at a faster rate than Texas (1.8 percent).
|
Rank |
Geographic Area | April 1, 2020 (estimates base) | July 1, 2023 | July 1, 2024 |
|
1 |
California |
39,555,674 |
39,198,693 |
39,431,263 |
|
2 |
Texas |
29,149,458 |
30,727,890 |
31,290,831 |
|
3 |
Florida |
21,538,192 |
22,904,868 |
23,372,215 |
|
4 |
New York |
20,203,772 |
19,737,367 |
19,867,248 |
|
5 |
Pennsylvania |
13,002,909 |
13,017,721 |
13,078,751 |
|
6 |
Illinois |
12,821,814 |
12,642,259 |
12,710,158 |
|
7 |
Ohio |
11,799,453 |
11,824,034 |
11,883,304 |
|
8 |
Georgia |
10,713,755 |
11,064,432 |
11,180,878 |
|
9 |
North Carolina |
10,441,499 |
10,881,189 |
11,046,024 |
|
10 |
Michigan |
10,079,338 |
10,083,356 |
10,140,459 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.
|
Rank |
Geographic Area |
April 1, 2020 (estimates base) |
July 1, 2023 |
July 1, 2024 |
Numeric Growth |
|
1 |
Texas |
29,149,458 |
30,727,890 |
31,290,831 |
562,941 |
|
2 |
Florida |
21,538,192 |
22,904,868 |
23,372,215 |
467,347 |
|
3 |
California |
39,555,674 |
39,198,693 |
39,431,263 |
232,570 |
|
4 |
North Carolina |
10,441,499 |
10,881,189 |
11,046,024 |
164,835 |
|
5 |
New York |
20,203,772 |
19,737,367 |
19,867,248 |
129,881 |
|
6 |
New Jersey |
9,289,014 |
9,379,642 |
9,500,851 |
121,209 |
|
7 |
Georgia |
10,713,755 |
11,064,432 |
11,180,878 |
116,446 |
|
8 |
Arizona |
7,158,110 |
7,473,027 |
7,582,384 |
109,357 |
|
9 |
Washington |
7,707,586 |
7,857,320 |
7,958,180 |
100,860 |
|
10 |
South Carolina |
5,118,252 |
5,387,830 |
5,478,831 |
91,001 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.
|
Rank |
Geographic Area |
April 1, 2020 (estimates base) |
July 1, 2023 |
July 1, 2024 |
Percent Growth |
|
1 |
District of Columbia |
689,545 |
687,324 |
702,250 |
2.2% |
|
2 |
Florida |
21,538,192 |
22,904,868 |
23,372,215 |
2.0% |
|
3 |
Texas |
29,149,458 |
30,727,890 |
31,290,831 |
1.8% |
|
4 |
Utah |
3,271,608 |
3,443,222 |
3,503,613 |
1.8% |
|
5 |
South Carolina |
5,118,252 |
5,387,830 |
5,478,831 |
1.7% |
|
6 |
Nevada |
3,105,595 |
3,214,363 |
3,267,467 |
1.7% |
|
7 |
Idaho |
1,839,140 |
1,971,122 |
2,001,619 |
1.5% |
|
8 |
North Carolina |
10,441,499 |
10,881,189 |
11,046,024 |
1.5% |
|
9 |
Delaware |
989,955 |
1,036,423 |
1,051,917 |
1.5% |
|
10 |
Arizona |
7,158,110 |
7,473,027 |
7,582,384 |
1.5% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.
Princeton is not the only Texas city that’s growing fast. The Lone Star State has four of the five fastest growing cities or towns in the United States, and three other Texas cities are in the top 13, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Five of the country’s fastest-growing cities and towns, including Princeton, are in the Dallas-Fort Worth region,”reported The Texas Tribune. “In a further sign of Dallas-Fort Worth’s transformation into a mega region, Fort Worth’s population surpassed 1 million people in 2024, making the region the only urban area in the country with two cities with more than 1 million residents. Dallas saw only a slight uptick, with 1.3 million people calling it home. That means just 318,000 people separate the two.”
|
Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
Percent Increase |
2024 Total Population |
|
1 |
Princeton |
Texas |
30.6 |
37,019 |
|
2 |
Fulshear |
Texas |
26.9 |
54,629 |
|
3 |
Leesburg |
Florida |
18.5 |
37,815 |
|
4 |
Celina |
Texas |
18.2 |
51,661 |
|
5 |
Anna |
Texas |
14.6 |
31,986 |
|
6 |
Haines City |
Florida |
12.1 |
42,073 |
|
7 |
Foley |
Alabama |
12.0 |
28,043 |
|
8 |
Fate |
Texas |
11.4 |
27,467 |
|
9 |
Rosemount |
Minnesota |
10.6 |
30,581 |
|
10 |
Garner |
North Carolina |
10.4 |
39,345 |
|
11 |
Melissa |
Texas |
10.0 |
26,194 |
|
12 |
Sugar Hill |
Georgia |
9.5 |
28,598 |
|
13 |
Hutto |
Texas |
9.4 |
42,661 |
|
14 |
Leland |
North Carolina |
9.4 |
34,451 |
|
15 |
Erie |
Colorado |
9.2 |
38,594 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates
It’s not just smaller Texas towns that are fast-growing. Houston, the state’s largest city, added 43,217 people, which is the second most residents of any city in the United States. San Antonio and Fort Worth were also in the top five of numeric increases.
|
Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
Numeric Increase |
2024 Total Population |
|
1 |
New York City |
New York |
87,184 |
8,478,072 |
|
2 |
Houston |
Texas |
43,217 |
2,390,125 |
|
3 |
Los Angeles |
California |
31,276 |
3,878,704 |
|
4 |
San Antonio |
Texas |
23,945 |
1,526,656 |
|
5 |
Fort Worth |
Texas |
23,442 |
1,008,106 |
|
6 |
Charlotte |
North Carolina |
23,423 |
943,476 |
|
7 |
Chicago |
Illinois |
22,164 |
2,721,308 |
|
8 |
Phoenix |
Arizona |
16,933 |
1,673,164 |
|
9 |
Seattle |
Washington |
16,813 |
780,995 |
|
10 |
Jacksonville |
Florida |
16,365 |
1,009,833 |
|
11 |
Miami |
Florida |
16,337 |
487,014 |
|
12 |
Washington |
District of Columbia |
14,926 |
702,250 |
|
13 |
San Jose |
California |
13,634 |
997,368 |
|
14 |
Columbus |
Ohio |
12,694 |
933,263 |
|
15 |
Las Vegas |
Nevada |
12,292 |
678,922 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates
|
Rank |
Area Name |
State Name |
2024 Total Population |
|
1 |
New York City |
New York |
8,478,072 |
|
2 |
Los Angeles |
California |
3,878,704 |
|
3 |
Chicago |
Illinois |
2,721,308 |
|
4 |
Houston |
Texas |
2,390,125 |
|
5 |
Phoenix |
Arizona |
1,673,164 |
|
6 |
Philadelphia |
Pennsylvania |
1,573,916 |
|
7 |
San Antonio |
Texas |
1,526,656 |
|
8 |
San Diego |
California |
1,404,452 |
|
9 |
Dallas |
Texas |
1,326,087 |
|
10 |
Jacksonville |
Florida |
1,009,833 |
|
11 |
Fort Worth |
Texas |
1,008,106 |
|
12 |
San Jose |
California |
997,368 |
|
13 |
Austin |
Texas |
993,588 |
|
14 |
Charlotte |
North Carolina |
943,476 |
|
15 |
Columbus |
Ohio |
933,263 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates
A new study from hireahelper.com released in October 2025 found that 265,000 people moved to Texas last year from other states, with the newest residents coming from California (14.05 percent of the total), Florida (9.2 percent), and Colorado (4.55 percent).
Other residents moved from Arizona (3.85 percent), Illinois (3.68 percent), and Louisiana (3.54 percent).
“Despite the gain of over a quarter million new residents, Texas also lost residents to other states. When taking this into account, Texas ranked at 14th in the nation for net migration, with an actual increase of 14.1 residents per 10,000 current residents,” reported Fox 26 News.
The report said that among in-state and out-of-state moves (1.6 million adults), the most people settled in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area (519,078 total), followed by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (376,391), Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (186,109), San Antonio-New Braunfels (159,306), and Killeen-Temple (33,049).
The Lone Star State continues to stand out—not just for its strength and growth, but for the pride Texans feel in calling it home.