Americans are moving to the suburbs, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Over the last six years, city centers have seen little growth, while the outer edges of metro areas have experienced a population boom.
Four metro areas stood out, according to report authors Matt Erickson and Lindsay Spell: Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington in Texas; New York–Newark–Jersey City in New York and New Jersey; Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington in Minnesota and Wisconsin; and Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue in Washington.
All four metro areas recorded overall population gains ranging from as little as 0.1 percent in New York to as much as 11.0 percent in Dallas. Seattle was the only metro that saw growth in both its city center and inner suburbs. The others’ gains were driven primarily by exurban growth, the report said.
The Dallas metro area showed the most significant population gains along its outer edges. The fast-growing region added about 270,000 residents through net domestic migration from 2020 to 2025, nearly 40 percent more than any other U.S. metro area. Much of that growth occurred far from the urban core.
Five outer-ring cities in the northeastern portion of the metro more than doubled their populations over the five-year period, including Celina, the nation’s fastest-growing city in 2025, which nearly quadrupled in size. Within the core metro, Dallas grew 1.9 percent, while Fort Worth grew 11.9 percent.
In the New York metro area, population growth was driven largely by international migration. The region lost 1.3 million residents through domestic migration, the largest outflow of any U.S. metro area. Despite that, growth was still concentrated in exurban cities and towns, the report said.
Although known as the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul followed different growth patterns. Several suburbs along the southern and northwestern edges of the metro grew rapidly, with three—Rosemount, St. Michael and Otsego—topping 20 percent growth. Meanwhile, several inner suburbs, including White Bear Lake and Brooklyn Center, declined by 5 percent or more. Overall, the metro remained relatively flat: Minneapolis grew 0.1 percent, while St. Paul declined 1.5 percent.
In the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue region, more than one-third of incorporated places lost population this decade, though Seattle was not among them. The city grew 6.5 percent. Population declined in some outer suburbs, particularly to the south between Seattle and Tacoma. However, several of the fastest-growing cities were inner suburbs near Seattle’s limits, including Redmond and SeaTac. Still, some exurbs such as Arlington—nearly 50 miles north of downtown Seattle—also grew, up 10.6 percent.
