Harris County, Texas #1 US county in adding population for second year in a row-Houston Chronicle

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3/13/13, "Harris County gained more residents than any other in U.S.," Houston Chronicle, Anita Hassan

"Harris County added more residents than any other county in the United States for the second year in a row, the Census Bureau reported Thursday, as thousands of people drawn by job opportunities flocked to the Houston area.

Between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, Harris County grew by about 80,000 people to more than 4.2 million. In the same time period, the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area increased by 125,185 residents to about 6.1 million, second in the nation behind the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, which grew by 131,879 people.

About half of the population rise in the Houston area comes from natural increase - births minus deaths - and the other half is attributed to people moving to the area. Experts say the migration was driven by numerous job opportunities created largely by the oil and gas industry.

"If it wasn't for the net migration, Houston and Harris County would look like most other places that are kind of growing at a moderate pace," said Lloyd Potter, state demographer for Texas.

"But because economic opportunity is being created in Houston - apparently at a greater rate that is happening in other parts of the country - we're seeing net positive migration into Houston," Potter said.

Historically, the level of domestic and international migration in Texas has been about the same, Rice University sociology professor Steve Murdock said.

However, Thursday's census data showed that roughly 60 percent of 65,570 people who moved to the Houston metro area - long known as an international hub - came from other parts of the country.

"I think that is due to the fact that the economy is still slow, slower than it was in the boom periods," Murdock said.

While Houston survived the recession and housing crisis better than other parts of the country did, those economic circumstances still play a role in international migration, which dropped after the downturn, said Murdock, who is also director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University....

Experts say the latest data also support the agency's earlier reports that showed Texas was the third-fastest-growing state in the nation, with the largest numeric increase in population....

Oil and gas exploration, specifically shale oil drilling, is creating more job opportunities in West Texas, causing a rapid growth in that part of the state, Potter said. Midland was the fastest-growing metro area and neighboring Odessa ranked fifth overall, according to census data.

Other employment sectors such as the technology industry are creating job opportunities in places like the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area, which ranked as the seventh fastest growing metro, Murdock said...."And that it is part of a complex of cities in Texas that have become a strong center of attention for Americans as excellent places to live."' via Lucianne


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