These Are The Fastest-Growing Places In MN, New Data Shows

MINNESOTA — Medicine Lake was the fastest-growing city or town in Minnesota from 2023 to 2024, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau that showed cities of all sizes saw at least modest growth during the period, and some saw explosive growth.

Princeton, Texas, definitely falls in the latter category. The suburb of Dallas experienced a remarkable 30.5 percent growth rate, according to the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 estimates. The year-over-year increases there increased the city’s headcount by nearly one-third in just one year, and the population has more than doubled since 2020.

Cities that increased their headcounts the most were New York City, Houston and Los Angeles, and some cities in the Northeast and Midwest saw their first population increases in recent years, according to the report.

The report underscores that America is a nation of small towns. About three-fourths of the nation’s 19,479 incorporated places, including 14,603 cities, have populations below 5,000.

By comparison, only 4.2 percent (817 cities) had populations of 50,000 or more, and 1.8 percent (342) of cities had populations of 100,000 or more.

In Minnesota, the 10 fastest-growing cities and towns in 2023-2024 were:

1. Medicine Lake, MN (Hennepin County)

2023: 319 people
2024: 1,343 people
Growth: 321.0%

2. Oronoco, MN (Olmsted County)

2023: 1,784 people
2024: 2,040 people
Growth: 14.3%

3. Forada, MN (Douglas County)

2023: 168 people
2024: 187 people
Growth: 11.3%

4. Rosemount, MN (Dakota County)

2023: 27,654 people
2024: 30,581 people
Growth: 10.6%

5. New York Mills, MN (Otter Tail County)

2023: 1,357 people
2024: 1,481 people
Growth: 9.1%

6. Corcoran, MN (Hennepin County)

2023: 7,734 people
2024: 8,378 people
Growth: 8.3%

7. Oakdale, MN (Washington County)

2023: 28,276 people
2024: 30,441 people
Growth: 7.7%

8. Melrose, MN (Stearns County)

2023: 3,635 people
2024: 3,911 people
Growth: 7.6%

9. Kimball, MN (Stearns County)

2023: 864 people
2024: 919 people
Growth: 6.4%

10. Hanover, MN (Hennepin County)

2023: 3,984 people
2024: 4,229 people
Growth: 6.1%

How The Midwest Fared Overall Compared To Other Regions

Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division, said in a news release that some cities that had seen their populations decline saw recovery from 2023 to 2024.

“Cities in the Northeast that had experienced population declines in 2023 are now experiencing significant population growth, on average,” Delbé said. “In fact, cities of all sizes, in all regions, showed faster growth and larger gains than in 2023, except for small cities in the South, whose average population growth rate remained the same.”

Cities in the Northeast saw population increases after years of steady decline, with rates ranging from average growth of 0.1 percent in cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 people (a shift from the 0.3 percent average decline in 2023) to 1.0 percent average growth in cities with populations of 50,000 or more — five times higher than their growth rate during 2023, the report said.

The Midwest showed modest population growth, with average rates varying by population size. Places with fewer than 5,000 residents saw an average growth of 0.1 percent. Those with populations between 5,000 and 9,999 recorded a 0.6 average increase, while cities and towns with 10,000 to 49,999 residents grew by an average of 0.7 percent — the same rate observed in places with populations of 50,000 or more, the report said

The South experienced the highest average population growth of any region. Cities and towns in the South with populations between 5,000 and 9,999 residents experienced the highest average increase of 1.6 percent. Those with populations ranging from 10,000 to 49,999 also saw an average growth rate at 1.6 percent. In contrast, places with population below 5,000 recorded a much lower average growth of 0.6 percent, the report said.

The West showed population growth, where cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 people saw a modest average increase of 0.5 percent, while larger cities and towns with populations between 10,000 and 49,999 recorded an average growth rate of 1.0 percent — the same rate observed in places with 50,000 or more residents, the report said

Also from the report:

• Washington, D.C., added almost 15,000 residents in 2024, nearly doubling its population gain in 2023.
• Los Angeles, California, returned to the list of top gainers for the first time since 2016, adding more than 31,000 residents in 2024, making it third among the nation’s largest-gaining cities.
• Two cities crossed the 1 million-population threshold between 2023 and 2024 — Jacksonville, Florida (1,009,833), and Fort Worth, Texas (1,008,106).
• Twelve of the 15 cities with the largest numeric population gains between 2023 and 2024 were located in the South or the West, but the Northeast’s New York, N.Y., tops the list with an increase of 87,184 residents between 2023 and 2024. Rounding out the top five numeric gainers were: Houston, Texas (43,217); Los Angeles, California (31,276); San Antonio, Texas (23,945); and Fort Worth, Texas (23,442).
• Seven cities crossed the 100,000-population threshold, with five of them in the South: Deltona, Florida (100,513); Plantation, Florida (100,694); Sunrise, Florida (100,128); Georgetown, Texas (101,344); and San Angelo, Texas (100,159). The two others are in the West: Tracy, California (100,136), and Federal Way, Washington (100,252).
• Between 2023 and 2024, 22 cities and towns in 16 states crossed the 20,000-population threshold. Thirteen were in the South, four in the Midwest, three in the West, and two in the Northeast.

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