FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth added the second-most new residents of any large city in the country last year and surpassed San Jose, California, to become the 12th largest city in the U.S., according to new data.
Cowtown added 21,365 new residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, for a population of 978,468 according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 population estimates. This puts it right on the heels of the 11th largest city and fellow Texas city, Austin, which has a population of 979,882.
“This surge underscores the tremendous opportunities and potential that Fort Worth offers, and we are dedicated to harnessing this momentum to build a brighter future for generations to come,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “While we celebrate our city’s growth, we remain committed to ensuring that Fort Worth remains a vibrant, safe, clean and prosperous community for all its residents.”
Fort Worth was surpassed only by another Texas city, San Antonio, which saw the biggest population jump in the country, adding 21,970 new residents during the same time period for a population nearing 1.5 million. It’s now the seventh-largest city in the U.S. and second-largest city in Texas, behind Houston.
“The population growth across the South in 2023 was driven by significant numeric and percentage gains among its cities,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “Thirteen of the 15 fastest-growing cities were in the South, with eight in Texas alone.”
Dallas, for its part, saw its population grow from 1.29 million in 2022 to 1.32 million in 2023. Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the country and third largest city in Texas.
Topping the list of fastest-growing cities with a population of 20,000 or more is Celina, whose population grew by 26.6%, more than 53 times that of the nation’s growth rate of 0.5%.
Other Texas cities that joined Celina on the list of top-10 fastest-growing cities:
- Fulshear (2) with 25.6% growth and a population of 43,317 in 2023
- Princeton (3) with 22.3% growth and a population of 28,027 in 2023
- Anna (4) with 16.9 % growth and a population of 27,501 in 2023
- Georgetown (8) with 10.6% growth and a population of 96,312 in 2023
- Prosper (9) with 10.5% growth and a population of 41,660 in 2023
- Forney (10) with 10.4% growth and a population of 35,470 in 2023
Full ranking of the top 10 most populous cities in the U.S. as of July 1, 2023:
- New York, New York with a population of 8.3 million
- Los Angeles, Calif. with a population of 3.8 million
- Chicago, Ill., with a population of 2.66 million
- Houston with a population of 2.3 million
- Phoenix, Ariz. with a population of 1.65 million
- Philadelphia with a population of 1.55 million
- San Antonio with a population of 1.5 million
- San Diego, Calif., with a population of 1.4 million
- Dallas with a population of 1.3 million
- Jacksonville, Florida, with a population of 985,843
For more information, visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s website.
