The report, released Thursday morning, says the 50 fastest-growing metro areas in the country are concentrated in the West and the South.
Metro Gainesville's population increased by 24.4 percent during the period. At the same time, Atlanta was adding 890,000 people - leading the way, in raw numbers, of all the country's 361 metro areas. (See tables below.)
A year ago, Gainesville was number 12 on the list.
Like Gainesville, the other nine fastest-growing metro areas are all in smaller Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Numerically, the larger metro areas led the way.
Mayor Bob Hamrick is not surprised at the new ranking. "Certainly, we can look around and see evidence of growth in every sector of our community."
The President and CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, Kit Dunlap, reels off a list of things that attract people to the area - Lake Lanier, the mountains, infracstructure, "good schools," etc.
But, she says, there's one overriding factor: "You're close enough to Atlanta. You're in the right location."
According to the report, metro Atlanta was the nation's ninth largest as of July 1, 2006 with a population of 5.1 million. Overall, six metro areas each gained at least 500,000 people between 2000
and 2006.
Dallas-Fort Worth had the second largest numeric increase at 842,000, and totaled about 6 million people. Houston (with an increase of 825,000), Phoenix (787,000) and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (771,000) rounded out the top five metro area gainers over the time period. The five metro areas experiencing the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 were in the South or West.
The Northeast metro area with the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 was New York (seventh overall nationally), while the Midwest metro area with the greatest numeric change over the same period was Chicago (10th overall nationally).
New York was the most populous metro area on July 1, 2006, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (13 million) and Chicago (9.5 million). Fourteen metro areas had populations of 4 million or more.
The New Orleans metro area experienced the greatest numeric loss from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, declining 292,000 since 2000 to 1 million on July 1, 2006. It was followed by Pittsburgh (a loss of 60,000) and
Cleveland (a loss of 34,000). The New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., metro area also had the biggest percentage loss during the same time period at 22.2 percent. It was followed by Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. (a loss of 7.4
percent) and Weirton- Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio (a loss of 5.2 percent).
St. George, in the southwestern part of Utah, was the fastest-growing metro area between 2000 and 2006, with a growth of 39.8 percent to total 126,000 on July 1, 2006. Rounding out the top five were Greeley, Colo. (31
percent); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (29.6 percent); Bend, Ore. (29.3 percent); and Las Vegas (29.2 percent).
The 50 fastest-growing metro areas were almost evenly distributed between just two regions - 23 in the West and 25 in the South. One metro area, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo., straddled both the South
and Midwest regions. Sioux Falls, S.D., was the lone metro area among the top 50 fastest-growing located completely in the Midwest. Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, none were in the Northeast. York-Hanover, Pa.,
the fastest-growing metro area in the Northeast, ranked 95th.
10 U.S. Metro Areas With Highest Numerical Growth: April 1, 2000-July 1, 2006:
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. 890,211
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas 842,449
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas 824,547
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. 787,306
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. 771,314
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. 584,510
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. 495,154
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. 494,220
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. 455,869
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. 407,133
10 Fastest-Growing U.S. Metro Areas: April 1, 2000-July 1, 2006
St. George, Utah 39.8%
Greeley, Colo. 31.0%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. 29.6%
Bend, Ore. 29.3%
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. 29.2%
Provo-Orem, Utah 25.9%
Naples-Marco Island, Fla. 25.2%
Raleigh-Cary, N.C. 24.8%
Gainesville, Ga. 24.4%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. 24.2%
More than four-fifths of all U.S. metro areas (305 out of 361) had a larger population on July 1, 2006, than on April 1, 2000. The 50 fastest-growing metro areas between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2006, all grew by at least 13.8 percent, which is more than double the nation's total population gain of 6.4 percent during the same time period. As of July 1, 2006, the 361 metro areas in the United States contained 249.2 million people - 83.2 percent of the nation's population.
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