Seattle Skyline Super Moon
Seattle skyline. Photo by Kevin Lisota.

New data from the Census Bureau released today shows more people flocking to the Seattle region than most places of the country.

From July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area ranked tenth in numerical population growth, adding 57,514 people. The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land region in Texas had the biggest growth of U.S. metro areas, adding 137,692 people in just one year, while the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region ranked ninth with 62,117 added. As a whole, the country’s metro areas added 2.3 million people last year.

King County, meanwhile, ranked fourth among fastest-growing — numerically speaking — counties with a 37,000 person increase.

population21

population12

In terms of growth by percentage — instead of numerical — The Villages, Fla., saw the biggest spike of any metro area at 5.2 percent. The Census Bureau noted that areas rich with oil and gas supplies accounted for several of the fastest-growing regions:

population22Part of Seattle’s population growth can be credited to the burgeoning tech scene, which has attracted companies like FacebookTwitterGoogle and eBay, who have all set up offices in the region. Amazon also continues to build like crazy in the South Lake Union area, where rental prices are even surpassing those in the hottest neighborhoods in San Francisco.

Hat tip Seattle Times

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.