This Is The Fastest Growing City In Maryland

By Grant Suneson, 24/7 Wall St. - Baltimore

The U.S. population growth rate hit its lowest level since the Great Depression, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Over the past decade, the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic slowed immigration as well as caused many Americans to hold off on having kids.

Population growth did not stagnate everywhere in the U.S., however. In fact, in nearly every state at least one major metro area reported a faster population growth rate from 2010 to 2020 than the comparable national rate of 6.7%.

To determine the fastest growing city in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Estimates Program. Metropolitan areas were ranked based on total population change from 2010 to 2020.

While all but one state had at least one major metro area with a growing population over the past decade, the states with the biggest booming metro areas were primarily concentrated in the South and the West.

Still, there were 11 states where not a single metro area reported population growth even on par with the U.S. rate. Population growth in these cities was slower than the U.S. rate. Eight of those states were in the Northeast.

The fastest growing city in Maryland is the Salisbury metro area. Its population grew by 13.3% from 2010 to 2020 to 423,481 residents. During that same time, the population of Maryland grew by 4.9%, and the U.S. population increased by 6.7%.

Economic opportunity often drives population changes, and most of the fastest growing cities in each state have relatively high incomes compared to the state as a whole. But this is not the case in Maryland. The Salisbury metro area has a median annual household income of $61,283, well below Maryland’s median of $86,738.

To determine the fastest growing city in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Estimates Program. Metropolitan areas were ranked based on total population change from 2010 to 2020. Data on the components of population growth — births, deaths, international and domestic migration — also came from the PEP program. Supplemental data on employment used to calculate employment growth from 2010 to 2020 came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data on the May 2021 unemployment rate also came from the BLS. Data on median household income came from the Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are one-year estimates. This is the fastest growing city in each state.

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This story was originally published on July 25 by24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.