Daily Real Estate News  |  March 23, 2007  |   The 'Burb Rush: Fastest Growing Suburbs
People are leaving the cities and moving to where the cost of living is lower and where they perceive the quality of life is higher.

That’s the trend indicated this week by the U.S. Census Bureau when it released an analysis of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. The statistics reflect the period from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, a time when interest rates were historically low, housing boomed, and home prices soared, particularly in metropolitan areas.

At the same time, businesses and people packed up and moved to greener pastures, many of them in the Sun Belt. Texas, Florida, and Georgia boast some of the largest growth stories.

Here are the top 10 fastest-growing counties and the percentage they grew by in that six-year time span:

1. Flagler County, Fla.: 66.7 percent. On the Atlantic Coast between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, Flagler's population has boomed from 50,000 in 2000 to more than 83,000 last year. Its seaside location, balmy weather, and access to Interstate 95 are part of the reason for its boom.

2. Kendall County, Ill.: 61.7 percent. The Chicago suburbs that lie along Interstate 88 are all growing, but Kendall County, which is farther from the city, is growing the fastest.

3. Rockwall County, Texas: 60.5 percent. Rockwall, the smallest county in Texas, grew from 43,000 in 2000 to 69,000 in 2006, as people moved farther from nearby Dallas-Fort Worth.

4. Loudoun County, Va.: 58.5 percent. Loudoun's growth is partially due to the increasingly astronomical cost of living in nearby Washington, D.C.

5. Forsyth County, Ga.: 53.4 percent. Georgia has six of the country's 25 fastest-growing counties — all of them near Atlanta. Forsyth leads the pack, with a population increase of more than 98,000 in 2000 to 151,000 in 2006.

6. Pinal County, Ariz.: 51.0 percent. In sheer numbers, Phoenix grew faster than any area of the country and the growth spilled over into neighboring Pinal County.

7. Douglas County, Colo.: 50.0 percent. This was the fastest-growing county in the nation in the 1990s. While growth has slowed down, it’s still appealing to those who want to work in nearby Denver or Colorado Springs, and still enjoy the great outdoors.

8. Henry County, Ga.: 49.2 percent. Atlanta’s amazing growth has led to nearby Henry County adding more than 59,000 people in six years.

9. Paulding County, Ga.: 48.9 percent. Another metropolitan Atlanta hotspot. It bills itself as “an excellent place to begin the rest of your life.”

10. Lyon County, Nev.: 48.5 percent. Being near Reno and Carson City is part of Lyon County’s appeal, but it doesn’t hurt that there ‘s plenty of high-tech employment and, by the way, prostitution is legal in Lyon.

Source: Forbes, Brian Wingfield (03/22/07)