Sunbelt Surge: Tracking Population Booms in America’s Largest Cities

📈 Recent Census data shows nearly all U.S. metros >1 million residents experienced population growth from 2022 to 2024, with Sunbelt cities (Orlando, Houston, Raleigh, Austin, Dallas) leading the way on a % basis. Miami saw accelerated growth in the past two years, while core markets like New York and San Francisco returned to positive territory.

💡 Notably, only 2 markets (Pittsburgh and Memphis) experienced population declines from 2022-2024, while 15 markets declined from 2020-2022, driven by the pandemic.

🚀 In absolute terms, Houston and Dallas led with the highest population growth from 2022-2024 at 393K and 370K, respectively. Future analysis will examine absolute changes.

This data is based on US Census resident population annual estimates from July 2020 - July 2024, released March 2025.