Harris County Nation’s Fastest Growing County

Led by Harris County, the population of the 10 county Greater Houston Metropolitan area went over 6 million people last summer, making it the nation's fifth-largest metro area.  The US Census Bureau says Harris County added more people than any other county in the nation between April 1, 2010, and July 2011.

This phenomenal growth is not confined to Harris County. Three other Texas counties are also among  the nation's ten fastest growing counties. They are Dallas, Bexar (San Antonio) and Tarrant (Fort Worth) counties.

The growth is happening statewide. In that 2010 to 2011 period, the Texas population grew by 600 thousand, from an estimated 25.1 million to 25.7 million in one year.  And they're still coming.

One more thing worth noting, nearly all the fastest-growing metro areas -- 46 out of 50 -- are entirely or partially in the South or West.

Why is this happening?  It's simple.  People go where the jobs are, where taxes, living costs and home prices are low, and life is good. Texas leads the country in all those categories.  But you already knew that.

via Harris leads nation's other counties in growth - Houston Chronicle.

BTW:  The ten counties in the Greater Houston Metro area are Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Waller, Chambers, Austin, and San Jacinto Counties.