San Antonio ranks as nation’s fourth fastest-growing city, new Census numbers show

San Antonio expanded by 23,900 residents from 2023 to 2024, making it the nation’s fourth fastest-growing city by numerical population growth, new U.S. Census Bureau numbers show.

A total of three Texas cities landed in the bureau’s list of the five fastest-growing cities. Houston came in second, while Fort Worth slid in at No. 5.

New York took the list’s top spot for the time period, adding 87,200 residents, while Los Angeles took No. 3 spot with 31,300.

The Census data reflects both inward and outward migration along with births and deaths for each of the cities. In other words, the numbers reflect a net increase in population.

Tech boomtown Austin is notably absent from the Census Bureau’s list. Although transplants, many from California, flooded the Texas capital during the COVID-19 pandemic, its population growth has declined sharply, allowing Fort Worth to surpass it as the nation’s 11th most populous city.

Even though San Antonio’s population boom allowed it to retain its title as the nation’s seventh-largest city, the size of its metropolitan statistical area (MSA) – or the urban core plus its surrounding geographical area – puts it in the company of much more modestly sized metros. The MSAs of Baltimore; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Orlando, Florida, all surpass SA’s, according to additional Census data.

Economists generally regard MSA population size as the better indicator of a city’s prominence and economic weight because that data includes its outlying suburbs.

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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.