Houston Led Nation in Population Growth in Last Decade, Rice Finds

No city in America grew more in population in the last decade than Houston, a Rice study said today. And if you don't believe it, they put out the slick video above to erase any doubt.

Houston added 1,231,393 residents between 2000 and 2012, the study of census figures said; the next-best city was Dallas, with 1,210,229 unfortunate souls.

"Houston's growth represents more people than the population growth in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined during the past decade," said Michael Emerson, co-director of Rice's Kinder Institute. "Houston's growth alone accounts for more people than the nation's 14 smallest metropolitan areas combined. It is more than the number of people who live in the Buffalo metropolitan area, and more than in the New Orleans metropolitan area -- and it is more than the number of people in 322 of the nation's 366 metropolitan areas."

Rice said Houston's growth came about because "[it] capitalized on its closeness to Latin America, its emergence as a major destination for immigrants from around the world, the
area's pro-business policies, low cost of living, significant job growth and location in the fastest-growing state in the nation."

Who's to argue that "location in the fastest-growing state in the nation" wouldn't help a city grow?

Here are your top 30, according to Rice:

1. Houston 1,231,393

2. Dallas-Fort Worth 1,210,229

3. Atlanta 1,020,879

4. Riverside, Calif. 970,030

5. Phoenix 941,011

6. Washington, D.C. 785,987

7. Las Vegas 575,504

8. New York 574,107

9. Miami 557,071

10. Orlando, Fla. 489,850

11. Austin, Texas 466,526

12. Los Angeles 463,210

13. San Antonio 430,805

14. Charlotte, N.C. 427,590

15. Seattle 395,931

16. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. 387,246

17. Denver 364,242

18. Chicago 362,789

19. Sacramento, Calif. 352,270

20. Raleigh/Cary, N.C. 333,419

21. Minneapolis/St. Paul 311,027

22. Portland, Ore. 298,128

23. San Diego 281,480

24. Philadelphia 278,196

25. Nashville, Tenn. 278,145

26. Indianapolis 231,137

27. Columbus, Ohio 224,217

28. Jacksonville, Fla. 222,846

29. San Francisco/Oakland 211,651

30. McAllen, Texas 205,306