Washington – Elk Grove, Calif., wasn’t even incorporated six years ago, and now it’s the fastest-growing city in America.
Meanwhile, bigger, older cities are losing ground.
Elk Grove, a Sacramento suburb, grew by 11.6 percent last year, to 112,000 people, typifying the nation’s appetite for open spaces and affordable homes. Once a rural farming community, Elk Grove has given way to sprawling development, fueled by a short commute to Sacramento and local employers such as Apple Computer.
“Ten to 15 years ago is when the housing started coming in. That was followed by the businesses,” said Janet Toppenberg, president and chief executive of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce.
Americans have been moving west and south for decades, and last year was no different. All but three of the 50 fastest-growing cities from 2004 to 2005 were in those regions of the country, with many in California and Florida, according to Census Bureau estimates. The estimates were for cities with populations of 100,000 or more.
Elk Grove was followed in the top five by North Las Vegas, Nev.; Port St. Lucie, Fla.; Gilbert, Ariz.; and Cape Coral, Fla.
All five are suburban and have fewer than 200,000 residents.
Thornton was the fastest- growing city in Colorado, jumping 3.9 percent from 101,933 residents to 105,922. Aurora grew 2 percent, from 291,445 to 297,235.
“We have a pattern that is consistent across the country,” said Hans Johnson, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. “Families choose to move to areas where they can buy more housing for less money and often with better schools.”
Americans are moving away from many of the nation’s biggest cities, though the reasons vary: People are following jobs out of struggling Midwestern cities.
Others are leaving expensive Northeastern and Western cities in search of more affordable homes. And people are fleeing big cities everywhere in search of better schools.
New York remained the nation’s largest city, with 8.1 million people.
The city has added 135,000 people since 2000, but it lost 21,500 from 2004 to 2005, more than any other city.
Detroit, with its struggling economy, has lost 65,000 people since 2000, the most of any city. Philadelphia, which has lost about 50,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000, has lost 54,000 people during the same period.
San Francisco, with the highest home prices in the country, has lost 37,000 residents since 2000, the Census Bureau said.
In overall numbers, Phoenix added the most people – 44,400 – from 2004 to 2005, giving it a population of nearly 1.5 million.
