Your map shows just how empty most of the U.S. Land mass actually is
Over the last decade, the nation grew at its slowest rate since the 1930s, a slowdown broadly reflected in local area 2020 Census population counts released today.
Less than half of the nation’s 3,143 counties or equivalents gained population from 2010 to 2020, while the populations of around four-fifths of metro areas grew during the time period.
In 2020, 86% of the U.S. population lived in metropolitan statistical areas, up from 85% in 2010. Another 8% lived in micropolitan statistical areas, down from 9% in 2010.
The 10 largest metro areas all grew between 2010 and 2020, led by two in Texas: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land each grew by approximately 20%.
Five counties (metro areas in parentheses) gained at least 300,000 people during that period (2010-2020): Harris County, Texas (Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land); Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler); King County, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue); Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise); and Tarrant County, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington).
California’s Los Angeles County remained the largest county in 2020, crossing the 10.0 million-person mark between 2010 and 2020.