Houston is bucking the trend that plagues many of its peers. Of the nation’s 100 most populous cities, 43 lost population between ’21 and ’23. For some, the population losses were significant.

Though Houston’s most recent gains were modest, they’re sustainable, unlike those of the Fracking Boom (’11-’14) when the city averaged 40,000 new residents per year. Houston’s gains also rank among the largest of the nation’s 19,000 towns and cities.

The cities enjoying the most robust growth have several characteristics in common. First, they’re in metro areas that quickly recovered their pandemic job losses.  Employment in these regions is at an all-time high.

The nation’s fastest growing cities are also in metros where the cost of living is substantially lower than cities that are losing population. The data in the following chart comes from the Council for Community and Economic Research’s quarterly Cost of Living Index, which examines housing, utility, food, health care, and transportation costs in 264 metro areas. The index does not factor in local taxes.

The nation’s fastest growing cities are also in metro areas where housing tends to be more affordable.

Cities with the largest gains also tend to have lower state tax burdens. Conversely, the cities with shrinking populations tend to have higher tax burdens.

Other factors come into play as well. For instance, except for Seattle, the nation’s fastest growing cities tend to be in the sunbelt. 

Where Houston Ranks

The City of Houston’s population now exceeds 2.3 million, ranking it as the nation’s fourth most populous city. Five of the nation’s most populous cities are now in Texas. San Antonio is the nation’s seventh most populous and could overtake No. 6 Philadelphia by the end of the decade.

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Note: The geographic area referred to in this publication as “Houston,” "Houston Area” and “Metro Houston” is the ten-county Census designated metropolitan statistical area of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX. The ten counties are: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller.