Fastest-growing counties in Texas

Written by:
February 23, 2021
Hequals2henry // Wikimedia Commons

Fastest-growing counties in Texas

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Texas using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

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Michael Barera // Wikimedia Commons

#30. Parker County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +21,653
--- #248 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +19.3%
--- #26 among counties in Texas, #113 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 133,811
--- #33 largest county in Texas, #475 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#29. Rockwall County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +23,864
--- #229 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +32.6%
--- #10 among counties in Texas, #27 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 97,175
--- #40 largest county in Texas, #612 largest county nationwide
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Farragutful // Wikimedia Commons

#28. Smith County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +24,056
--- #227 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +11.8%
--- #55 among counties in Texas, #305 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 227,449
--- #22 largest county in Texas, #293 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#27. Kaufman County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +25,402
--- #217 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +25.8%
--- #18 among counties in Texas, #55 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 123,804
--- #36 largest county in Texas, #510 largest county nationwide
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#26. Nueces County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +27,170
--- #202 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +8.1%
--- #76 among counties in Texas, #530 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 361,540
--- #14 largest county in Texas, #193 largest county nationwide
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Billy Hathorn // Wikimedia Commons

#25. Ector County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +27,564
--- #197 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +20.7%
--- #23 among counties in Texas, #94 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 160,579
--- #28 largest county in Texas, #406 largest county nationwide
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#24. Cameron County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +28,100
--- #194 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +7.1%
--- #81 among counties in Texas, #601 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 421,666
--- #13 largest county in Texas, #165 largest county nationwide
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Renelibrary // Wikimedia Commons

#23. Ellis County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +30,270
--- #180 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +21.1%
--- #22 among counties in Texas, #89 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 173,772
--- #25 largest county in Texas, #375 largest county nationwide
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Billy Hathorn // Wikimedia Commons

#22. Webb County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +33,180
--- #159 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +13.8%
--- #44 among counties in Texas, #226 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 273,526
--- #19 largest county in Texas, #250 largest county nationwide
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Elred // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Lubbock County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +34,876
--- #153 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +12.9%
--- #47 among counties in Texas, #255 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 304,808
--- #18 largest county in Texas, #230 largest county nationwide
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SG Arts // Shutterstock

#20. Midland County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +36,064
--- #147 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +27.3%
--- #16 among counties in Texas, #49 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 168,167
--- #26 largest county in Texas, #384 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Guadalupe County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +36,238
--- #144 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +29.5%
--- #12 among counties in Texas, #33 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 158,966
--- #29 largest county in Texas, #413 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Brazos County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +37,555
--- #139 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +20.3%
--- #24 among counties in Texas, #100 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 222,981
--- #23 largest county in Texas, #302 largest county nationwide
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#17. Comal County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +38,806
--- #132 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +37.7%
--- #7 among counties in Texas, #19 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 141,642
--- #30 largest county in Texas, #456 largest county nationwide
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Nsaum75 // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Galveston County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +46,559
--- #112 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +16.3%
--- #36 among counties in Texas, #170 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 332,885
--- #17 largest county in Texas, #207 largest county nationwide
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Aualliso // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Bell County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +53,885
--- #98 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +18.3%
--- #29 among counties in Texas, #126 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 348,574
--- #16 largest county in Texas, #200 largest county nationwide
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Adavyd // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Brazoria County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +60,155
--- #88 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +20.0%
--- #25 among counties in Texas, #103 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 360,677
--- #15 largest county in Texas, #195 largest county nationwide
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BenjaminMonroy // Wikimedia Commons

#13. El Paso County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +63,782
--- #79 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +8.3%
--- #74 among counties in Texas, #513 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 836,062
--- #8 largest county in Texas, #69 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Hays County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +66,927
--- #73 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +45.7%
--- #3 among counties in Texas, #9 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 213,366
--- #24 largest county in Texas, #312 largest county nationwide
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Distrito Medico Monterrey // Flickr

#11. Hidalgo County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +118,203
--- #38 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +16.0%
--- #37 among counties in Texas, #174 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 855,176
--- #7 largest county in Texas, #67 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#10. Montgomery County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +144,232
--- #28 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +33.7%
--- #8 among counties in Texas, #25 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 571,949
--- #11 largest county in Texas, #115 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Williamson County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +155,889
--- #25 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +39.8%
--- #5 among counties in Texas, #16 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 547,604
--- #12 largest county in Texas, #122 largest county nationwide
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Mick Watson from Atascocita, Texas // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Denton County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +205,738
--- #18 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +32.8%
--- #9 among counties in Texas, #26 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 833,822
--- #9 largest county in Texas, #70 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Fort Bend County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +223,411
--- #15 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +41.2%
--- #4 among counties in Texas, #14 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 765,394
--- #10 largest county in Texas, #84 largest county nationwide
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Larry D. Moore // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Collin County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +235,232
--- #13 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +31.8%
--- #11 among counties in Texas, #31 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 973,977
--- #6 largest county in Texas, #48 largest county nationwide
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天王星 // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Travis County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +247,093
--- #12 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +25.2%
--- #19 among counties in Texas, #58 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 1,226,805
--- #5 largest county in Texas, #35 largest county nationwide
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Alan Botting // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Dallas County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +285,854
--- #10 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +12.3%
--- #53 among counties in Texas, #281 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 2,606,868
--- #2 largest county in Texas, #8 largest county nationwide
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#3. Bexar County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +302,791
--- #6 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +18.4%
--- #28 among counties in Texas, #125 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 1,952,843
--- #4 largest county in Texas, #16 largest county nationwide
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Mark Fisher // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Tarrant County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +306,470
--- #5 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +17.6%
--- #31 among counties in Texas, #139 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 2,049,770
--- #3 largest county in Texas, #15 largest county nationwide
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Hequals2henry // Wikimedia Commons

#1. Harris County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +695,631
--- #1 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +17.6%
--- #30 among counties in Texas, #138 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 4,646,630
--- #1 largest county in Texas, #3 largest county nationwide

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