Census estimates: Centerton soars to 6th-fastest growing U.S. city
by May 16, 2024 7:26 am 2,062 views
According to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centerton is the sixth-fastest growing city in the United States among cities with at least 20,000 residents. Meanwhile, Fayetteville was one of four U.S. cities to surpass a population of 100,000.
The Census Bureau released Thursday (May 16) population estimates as of July 1, 2023, that show Centerton’s population rose by 11.2% to 23,953 from 21,540 on July 1, 2022. Also Thursday, the Census Bureau released new housing unit estimates for U.S. counties.
Alison Wright, data center division head for the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, attributed Centerton’s population growth to a rise in new homes as the population estimates are based on the housing units estimates. Along with having the highest growth percentage in the state, Centerton also had the state’s largest numeric growth, adding 2,413 people from 2022 to 2023.
“While I knew it was growing, that’s pretty cool that it’s that high,” Wright said. “That to me was kind of a surprise to see that ranked as high as it was.” Since starting in her role, Wright’s not seen another Arkansas city ranked in the top 10 for population growth nationwide.
However, not surprising was that Little Rock remained the most populous city in Arkansas, Wright said.
“It’s over double the population of Fayetteville, which is the next largest,” she said. “Fayetteville has now crossed the 100,000-population threshold for the first time.”
Wright said Northwest Arkansas’ population growth remains on trend, with significant growth in Benton and Washington counties. She added that looking at Arkansas cities with at least 1,000 residents, all but two of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the state are in Benton or Washington counties.
“They’re clearly growing the fastest, building the most homes [and] things are happening up there,” she said. “The two that pop in there are Barling in Sebastian County and Brookland in Craighead County. Those are also in areas that it isn’t surprising we see some growth, but the fact that the top 10 is almost all Benton and Washington counties is basically what we’ve seen for the past few years happen.”
Among cities with at least 20,000 residents, Searcy ranked 95th fastest-growing U.S. city, with a 3.9% growth rate. Searcy’s population rose to 23,813 in 2023 from 22,918 in 2022. Over the period, Searcy had the state’s eighth-largest numeric gain, adding 895 people. From 2020 to 2023, the city’s population grew the ninth-fastest in Arkansas, with a 3.8% growth rate.
Conway ranked the 155th fastest-growing U.S. city, with a 2.9% growth rate. Its population rose to 69,580 in 2023 from 67,616 in 2022. Over the period, Conway had the state’s third-largest population gain, adding 1,964 people. From 2020 to 2023, Conway ranked the 150th fastest-growing U.S. city and the second fastest-growing city in Arkansas. The population rose by 8.5%.
Bentonville is the 168th fastest-growing U.S. city, with a 2.8% growth rate. Its population increased to 59,471 from 57,873. From 2022 to 2023, the city had the fourth-largest population gain in Arkansas, adding 1,598 people. Also, Bentonville ranked 123rd fastest-growing U.S. city and the fastest-growing city in Arkansas from 2020 to 2023. Over the period, the population rose by 9.7%.
Benton ranked the 180th fastest-growing city. Its population rose by 2.6% to 37,558 in 2023 from 36,606 in 2022. Over the period, Benton had the state’s sixth-largest population gain, adding 952 people from 2022 to 2023. From 2020 to 2023, Benton was the fifth-fastest growing city in Arkansas, with a 7.3% growth rate.
Bella Vista’s population rose by 2.1% to 32,368 in 2023 from 31,712 in 2022. Bella Vista was the state’s fourth-fastest growing city from 2020 to 2023, with a 7.6% growth rate.
Fayetteville’s population increased by 2% to 101,680 in 2023 from 99,688 in 2022. Over the period, the city had the state’s second-highest numerical gain, adding 1,992 people. From 2020 to 2023, Fayetteville was the state’s third-fastest growing city, with a 7.8% growth rate. The 323rd most populous U.S. city is the second most populous in the state.
The population of Bryant, the 281st fastest-growing U.S. city, rose by 1.7% to 21,877 in 2023 from 21,507 in 2022. From 2020 to 2023, the city’s growth rate was the seventh-fastest in the state at 5.9%.
Van Buren’s population rose by 1.7% to 24,138 from 23,737. With a 4% growth rate from 2020 to 2023, it was the eighth-fastest growing city.
Rogers’ population increased by 1.4% to 74,035 from 72,999. From 2022 to 2023, the city had the state’s fifth-highest numerical gain, adding 1,036 people. From 2020 to 2023, its population rose the sixth-fastest in Arkansas at 5.9%.
Jonesboro recorded a population increase of 1.1% to 80,650 in 2023 from 79,740 in 2022. It’s the 13th-fastest growing city in Arkansas. From 2022 to 2023, the city had the state’s seventh-highest population gain, adding 910 people. From 2020 to 2023, the city was the 11th-fastest growing in Arkansas, with a 2.6% growth rate. Jonesboro is the fifth most populous city in the state.
Springdale is the 15th-fastest growing city in Arkansas, with a 0.5% growth rate. The population rose to 88,224 in 2023 from 87,802 in 2022. From 2020 to 2023, the city also was the 15th-fastest growing city in the state, with a 1% growth rate. The city is the fourth most populous in Arkansas.
Little Rock is the 16th-fastest growing city in Arkansas. The city’s population rose to 203,842 in 2023 from 203,176 in 2022. From 2020 to 2023, the population growth rate was 0.6%, the 17th-fastest in Arkansas. Little Rock is the 119th most populous U.S. city and the most populous in Arkansas.
Fort Smith is the third most populous city in the state. The population declined by 0.3% to 89,770 in 2023 from 90,080 in 2022. Fort Smith had the state’s second-largest numerical decline in population, down 310 people. From 2020 to 2023, the population rose by 0.7%, the 16th-fastest in the state.
North Little Rock’s population is 64,531, down 0.1% from 64,595 in 2022. The population also fell by 0.1% from 2020 to 2023.
Pine Bluff’s population declined by 1.1% to 39,123 in 2023 from 39,569 in 2022. Pine Bluff had the state’s largest numerical decline in population, down 446 people. From 2020 to 2023, the population fell by 5.2%.
The Census Bureau ranks cities based on a population of at least 20,000. But among Arkansas cities of at least 1,000 residents, Tontitown was the state’s fastest-growing city from 2022 to 2023. Over the period, the city’s population increased by 12.9% to 7,364 people. The city also had the state’s ninth-largest population gain, adding 841 people.
After Centerton, Highfill, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove rounded out the top five fastest-growing cities in the state among cities with at least 1,000 people. The latter three cities had growth rates of 10.6%, 10.5% and 7.5% respectively, from 2022 to 2023. Over the period, Pea Ridge had the state’s 10th-highest numerical gain, adding 822 people.
HOUSING UNITS
Wright said the housing unit growth in Arkansas followed existing trends amid robust growth in Benton County. The state had the 21st fastest housing unit growth in the United States from 2022 to 2023. The state’s estimated number of housing units rose by 1% to 1.4 million in 2023 from 1.39 million in 2022. Housing units are up by 3.2% from 1.36 million in 2020.
In Pulaski County, housing units rose to 194,757 in 2023 from 194,645 in 2022, up from 190,889 in 2020.
Benton County’s housing units rose to 127,365 in 2023 from 122,436 in 2022. The housing units are up from 114,004 in 2020. Benton County recorded the 41st-fastest growth rate in housing units among U.S. counties with at least 5,000 housing units from 2022 to 2023. The growth rate was 4%, the fastest in Arkansas. Also, Benton County ranked 38th in the nation for the fastest growth rate from 2020 to 2023. Over the period, the rate was 12.6%.
Washington County’s housing units increased to 107,699 from 105,666. The number is up from 101,225 in 2020.
In Sebastian County, housing units rose to 57,866 from 57,475. The number is up from 56,824 in 2020.
Faulkner County’s housing units increased to 54,835 from 53,693. Wright said the growth rate of 2.1% tied with Craighead County for the second-fastest in Arkansas. The number of housing units is up from 51,792 in 2020.
Saline County’s housing units rose to 53,513 from 53,041. The housing units are up from 51,975 in 2020.
In Garland County, housing units rose to 53,009 from 52,891, up from 52,351 in 2020.
In Craighead County, the number of housing units increased to 49,937 in 2023 from 48,918 in 2022, up from 46,937 in 2020.
U.S. NUMBERS
According to the Census Bureau, cities in the South grew the fastest by an average of 1%. The fastest-growing U.S. city is Celina, Texas, with a 26.6% growth rate. That’s 53 times the average U.S. growth rate of 0.5%.
“Thirteen of the 15 fastest-growing cities were in the South, with eight in Texas alone,” said Crystal Delbe, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “The population growth across the South in 2023 was driven by significant numeric and percentage gains among its cities.”
In 2023, San Antonio, Texas, gained the most people, adding 21,970. Its population rose to 1.49 million. New York remains the most populous city, with a population of 8.25 million, down 5.5% from 8.74 million in 2020.
The housing unit estimates show California had the largest number of housing units at 14.8 million. Utah has the fastest growth in housing units, rising by 2.5% from 2022 to 2023.
Among U.S. counties, Falls Church, Va., has the fastest growth in housing units, rising by 13.5% from 2022 to 2023. Rich County, Utah, was the second fastest, with an 8.5% growth rate. Maricopa County, Ariz., added more housing units than any other U.S. county, adding 35,771 homes from 2022 to 2023.
Following are the 10 most populous Arkansas cities:
Little Rock
2023: 203,842
2022: 203,176
2021: 202,229
2020: 202,634
Fayetteville
2023: 101,680
2022: 99,688
2021: 97,360
2020: 94,783
Fort Smith
2023: 89,770
2022: 90,080
2021: 89,500
2020: 89,153
Springdale
2023: 88,224
2022: 87,802
2021: 87,692
2020: 87,322
Jonesboro
2023: 80,650
2022: 79,740
2021: 78,861
2020: 78,861
Rogers
2023: 74,035
2022: 72,999
2021: 71,426
2020: 70,348
Conway
2023: 69,580
2022: 67,616
2021: 65,940
2020: 64,348
North Little Rock
2023: 64,531
2022: 64,595
2021: 64,185
2020: 64,666
Bentonville
2023: 59,471
2022: 57,873
2021: 56,932
2020: 54,822
Pine Bluff
2023: 39,123
2022: 39,569
2021: 40,335
2020: 40,978
Following are the state’s 10 largest counties ranked by housing units:
Pulaski
2023: 194,757
2022: 193,645
2021: 191,949
2020: 190,889
Benton
2023: 127,365
2022: 122,436
2021: 118,182
2020: 114,004
Washington
2023: 107,699
2022: 105,666
2021: 101,225
2020: 100,507
Sebastian
2023: 57,866
2022: 57,475
2021: 57,146
2020: 56,824
Faulkner
2023: 54,835
2022: 53,693
2021: 52,705
2020: 51,792
Saline
2023: 53,513
2022: 53,041
2021: 52,458
2020: 51,975
Garland
2023: 53,009
2022: 52,891
2021: 52,474
2020: 52,351
Craighead
2023: 49,937
2022: 48,918
2021: 47,869
2020: 46,937
White
2023: 34,411
2022: 33,720
2021: 33,483
2020: 33,301
Lonoke
2023: 31,186
2022: 30,919
2021: 30,621
2020: 30,200