Dallas experienced the largest population growth in the U.S over the last year. Houston and Austin also rank in top five

Dallas is one of four Texas cities to finish inside the top ten in growth in 2021Sean Pavone/iStock

Everything is bigger in Texas and that includes the population booms.

Dallas Fort-Worth compiled the largest population growth of any U.S metro area from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the latest estimates from the U.S Census Bureau.

The 2020 census reported a DFW population of more than 7.6 million. In 2021, the census estimated the metro population had increased to more than 7.75 million. That growth of an estimated 97,290 residents catapulted Dallas-Fort Worth to the No. 1 metro spot in the nation for population growth during that span.

The amount of new Texas residents (97,290) nearly mirrors the entire Allen population of roughly 105,000 people and is more than the populations of The Colony (44,438) and Galveston (50,446) combined.

Among all U.S metro areas, the DFW had the third-most new residents (54,319) from July 2020 to July 2021.

A large reason for the massive influx of residents in the area can be attributed to the growing job market in Dallas, which has notably become a hub for large tech companies.

Last year, 14 Dallas-area companies ranked in Deloitte’s 2021 Technology Fast 500, an annual ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America. Only 10 Austin companies made the list.

Technology is fueling DFW’s economic engine. As more companies in the metro acquire tech talent to expand their business, the impact is being felt in the DFW’s real estate markets, generating demand for housing, retail, industrial, and healthcare properties, making the area a haven for business owners looking to plant roots.

In addition to Dallas, three other major Texas metro areas appear in the national top 10 for numeric population growth (rather than percentage growth) from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the Census Bureau. They are:

• Houston metro area, ranked third with 69,094 additional residents. Estimated July 1, 2021, population: 7,206,841. One-year growth rate: 1 percent.
• Austin metro area, ranked fourth with 53,301 additional residents. Estimated July 1, 2021, population: 2,352,426. One-year growth rate: 2.3 percent.
• San Antonio metro area, ranked eighth with 35,105 additional residents. Estimated July 1, 2021, population: 2,601,788. One-year growth rate: 1.4 percent.

Population growth in Texas isn't expected to slow down anytime soon, either, as the state is among the candidates to host Telosa, a build-from-the-ground-up city proposed by billionaire and former Walmart exec Marc Lore.

Telosa projects to have a population density similar to San Francisco and will require $400 billion to build. When Lore announced his plan to fund the creation of a city, Texas was mentioned on the shortlist of states to base it in.

Regardless of whether or not Telosa ever makes its way to the Lone Star state, Texas projects to continue to pace the country in population growth. Given its robust job market, especially in a pandemic-stricken economy, and ample space to build housing, Texas migration will continue to surge.

Locally, Collin and Denton counties are responsible for much of DFW’s population growth during the one-year period, the Census Bureau estimates show.

Collin County’s population rose by 36,313 from July 2020 to July 2021, putting it at No. 2 among county new resident additions. Maricopa County, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix, ranked first with an additional 58,246 residents.

Collin County ranks third nationally for the number of new residents (30,191) attributed to domestic migration during the one-year period.

For more information on the Texas census statistics, visit the official website here.