Jacksonville is among some heavy-hitting places these days when it comes to attracting new residents, according to figures just out from the Census Bureau.
Our Florida Times-Union news partner reports the Census counted 11,169 more of us on July 1, 2017, than were here a year earlier. That gain put the River City 13th on a list of the 15 large U.S. cities with the largest numerical population increases during that period.
The gain here was more than those reported for Irvine, Calif., and Henderson, Nev.; and just behind those recorded for Atlanta, San Diego and Austin, Texas.
The nation’s biggest numerical gains were seen in the West, as the list was topped by San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Seattle.
“Eight of the 15 cities or towns with the largest population gains were located in the South in 2017, with three of the top five in Texas,” said the Census, which defines large cities as those with more than 50,000 residents in 2016.
Definitions of South and West aside, only two of the 15 cities on the biggest-gainers list – Seattle and Columbus, Ohio – have what most would consider cold-weather climates.
The Census list of the nation’s 15 most-populous cities remained unchanged, as it has since 2016, the bureau said. There Jacksonville ranks 12th, just behind Dallas, San Jose, Calif., and Austin, and just ahead of San Francisco, Columbus and Fort Worth.
As of July 1, 2017, according to the Census, there were 892,062 people in Jacksonville.
