America's fastest-growing cities

1. Frisco, Texas

• Population growth since 2000: 203.9%
• 2009 estimated population: 102,413 (2010 city estimate: 107,050)
• 2015 projected population: 148,000
• Employers: a large T-Mobile USA campus; headquarters and training facilities for the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars team
• Median household income: $101,574
• Check out Frisco’s median home price
• Check out Frisco’s median apartment rental cost

No wonder city officials recently gave this city 25 miles north of Dallas the slogan "Progress in Motion" — it was the fastest-growing city with more than 100,000 people in the entire country in the 2000s.

But why are so many Dallas-area newcomers settling here? Frisco has some of the best schools in the state. Collin College, Dallas Baptist University, the University of Dallas and Amberton University all have campuses in Frisco. The city is also home to minor-league basketball, hockey and baseball teams and has quality arenas and ballparks.

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2. McKinney, Texas

• Population growth since 2000: 135%
• 2009 estimated population: 127,672
• 2015 projected population: 150,602
• Employers: Raytheon; headquarters for Torchmark, a holding company for several life insurance brands
• Median household income: $79,117
• Check out McKinney’s median home price
• Check out McKinney’s median apartment rental cost

North Texas has a lot of fast-growing communities, and there’s a lot of competition for where people can live and businesses can relocate. But people have been voting with their feet and trooping to McKinney.

They like that they’re within striking distance of downtown Dallas, 30 miles to the south, yet at the same time can live in a place that has elements of small-town charm. McKinney’s downtown of 19^th-century brick buildings has more than 100 shops and restaurants, most of them locally owned, like the fittingly named sweet shop Mom & Popcorn.

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3. North Las Vegas, Nev.

• Population growth since 2000: 94.2%
• 2009 population: 224,387
• 2015 projected population: 284,879
• Employers: Nellis Air Force Base; major distribution centers for companies such as Frito Lay; Bed, Bath & Beyond; and Amazon.com.
• Median household income: $53,000
• Check out North Las Vegas’ median home price
• Check out North Las Vegas’ median apartment rental cost

The city of North Las Vegas stretches across the northern end of the Las Vegas Valley. Just like the rest of greater Las Vegas, the city swelled with newcomers in the 2000s, becoming the fourth-largest city in Nevada.

But those numbers belie a different claim to fame: The city became home to the ZIP code that had the highest foreclosure rate in the country when the bottom fell out of the housing market. "Our local economy has definitely felt quite a blow because of this economic downturn," says Juliet Casey, the city’s public information officer.

Traditionally a center for manufacturing and distribution, North Las Vegas is trying to diversify; some high-tech businesses and shopping centers have found a home here. But bouncing back may take awhile.

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4. Gilbert, Ariz.

• Population growth since 2000: 93.6%
• 2009 population: 222,075
• 2025 projected population: 320,000
• Employers: Orbital Sciences, a space technology company; Lockheed Martin; local school districts
• Median household income: $86,077
• Check out Gilbert’s median home price
• Check out Gilbert’s median apartment rental cost

Twenty-five miles southeast of downtown Phoenix, the former farming community of Gilbert – which once fancied itself "The Hay Capital of the World" – now reaps praise instead for its great schools, its rock-bottom crime rate, its bike-friendliness. Even its dog parks win awards.

No wonder Gilbert has become a favorite with young, affluent families, who have flooded into town over the last decade, drawn by the aforementioned attributes and by Gilbert’s reputation as a neat, well-cared-for community, thanks to early regulations on the kind of development that could be done. 

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CORRECTION: This slide show originally misstated the year of the projected population for Gilbert as 2015. Gilbert does not have a projection for 2015.

5. Port St. Lucie, Fla.

• Population growth since 2000: 74.5%
• 2009 population: 154,410
• 2015 projected population: unavailable
• Employers: New York Mets hold spring training here; the PGA’s 54-hole Golf Village
• Median household income: $50,502 (City-data.com)
• Check out Port St. Lucie’s median home price
• Check out Port St. Lucie’s median apartment rental cost

Want to buy some swampland in Florida? Lots of people did in the early 2000s. And why not? Port St. Lucie has a lot going for it. There’s its location, two hours south of Orlando and two hours north of Fort Lauderdale. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America built a huge facility and museum here about 10 years ago that’s been a big draw, says Linda Cox, president of the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce. To top it off, "It was a very, very affordable place to live," Cox says.

Of course, popularity led to speculation, and the boom led to a severe bust. But home sales have picked up over the past six or eight months, and things are slowly turning around, she says, although, "We’re not growing like we once were."

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CORRECTION: This slide show originally misstated the location of Port St. Lucie as south of Fort Lauderdale.

6. Victorville, Calif.

• Population growth since 2000: 73.2%
• 2009 population: 110,921
• 2015 projected population: 127,205
• Employers: Southern California Logistics Airport; Victor Valley College;  a Verizon call center
• Median household income: $52,999
• Check out Victorville’s median home price
• Check out Victorville’s median apartment rental cost

About 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles on the edge of the Mojave Desert, Victorville might seem an unlikely boomtown. And indeed, now it is: After big growth early in the decade, this city has been smacked by the housing meltdown. At its height, Victorville approved 3,000 residential building permits in a year; last year it was closer to 200, says Yvonne Hester, city spokeswoman. "People are still building; they’re being much more cautious about building," she says.

Still, the factors that made Victorville appealing once are still in place for a rebound: a business-friendly environment, including less restrictive air-quality standards; lots of available land; and great freeway access for commuters.

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7. Round Rock, Texas

• Population growth since 2000: 71.5%
• 2009 population: 105,424
• 2015 projected population: 115,567
• Employers: Dell; Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co.; Dresser Inc.; Hospira
• Median household income: $70,696
• Check out Round Rock’s median home price
• Check out Round Rock’s median apartment rental cost

If Austin is the rebel child in Texas, then neighboring Round Rock, 15 miles north, is its steady younger brother — more sedate, a bit more conservative, a bit more businesslike. Dell’s international headquarters are here, and its growth over the past dozen years helped drive the city’s transformation from sleepy bedroom community to a stand-alone city where people can work where they live.

But if people first headed north from Austin because they found they got more for their money, now other things attract them as well: one of the lowest crime rates in the nation for a city with more than 100,000 people; a strong school district; a good park system; and property tax and utility rates that are the lowest in the region.

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8. Elk Grove, Calif.

• Population growth since 2000: 66.8%
• 2009 population: 135,285
• 2015 projected population: 162,000 (pre-census estimate)
• Employers: an Apple campus; Sutter Health hospital; Kaiser Permanente medical facilities
• Median household income:  $87,400
• Check out Elk Grove’s median home price
• Check out Elk Grove’s median apartment rental cost

The first city in California to incorporate in the new century, Elk Grove didn’t waste any time growing up, ballooning in its first 10 years. The city has benefited from being close to two major freeways and the Sacramento International Airport. But even more than that, its growth was spurred by the wide range of home prices available in the city. And the state capital is just four miles away; one in three members of the Elk Grove labor force is a state employee.

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9. Cape Coral, Fla.

• Population growth since 2000: 50.5%
• 2009 population: 154,202 (2010 city estimate: 163,095)
• 2015 projected population: 180,304
• Employers: city government; the local school district; a large Department of Veterans Affairs clinic is under construction
• Median household income: $55,989
• Check out Cape Coral’s median home price
• Check out Cape Coral’s median apartment rental cost

Cape Coral’s extraordinary growth statistics over the past decade mask the upheaval of the last three years. At its height, nearly 170,000 people called the city home;  now about 7,000 have fled this canal-lined city on the southern Gulf Coast, frequently walking away from homes they could no longer pay for. "The faster they rise, the harder they fall" could be this city’s slogan — Cape Coral was at the epicenter of growth in the mid-2000s, as speculation caused houses to go up left and right. The city issued 7,700 single-family housing permits in fiscal 2005; it issued just 159 in fiscal ’09, and Cape Coral and the county had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. The foreclosures are slowly drying up, a city planner says. But the boom days are over.

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10. Peoria, Ariz.

• Population growth since 2000: 50.1% 
• 2009 population: 163,226  
• 2015 projected population: pre-recession estimate was 200,000; no current estimate 
• Employers: Antigua Group Inc., makers of sports shirts; several large auto dealerships
• Median household income:  $66,359
• Check out Peoria’s median home price
• Check out Peoria’s median apartment rental cost

Peoria, in the northwestern part of the Phoenix metro area, has been booming for 20 years as part of the larger growth of Phoenix. What has made Peoria so attractive that people are willing to live 40 minutes from downtown Phoenix? Newer homes, top-notch schools and amenities such as the Challenger Space Center, part of the Smithsonian. And then, of course, there’s baseball: The Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres both play their spring-training games in Peoria — a big draw for the city.

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11. Miramar, Fla.

• Population growth since 2000: 50.1%
• 2009 population: 109,176 (2010 city estimate: 112,000)
• 2015 projected population: 117,000
• Employers: Spirit Airlines; Humana regional offices; Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise operations; JL Audio headquarters
• Median household income:  $61,594
• Check out Miramar’s median home price
• Check out Miramar’s median apartment rental cost

Equidistant to Miami and Fort Lauderdale and to two major airports, and with room to grow, Miramar grew rapidly in the 2000s. A lot of flexible warehouse/office space was built along Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike, and so were homes — lots of homes.

However, "We didn’t escape the ravages of the Great Recession," just like our neighbors, says Gus Zambrano, director of economic development and revitalization for Miramar. "We’re experiencing a high level of foreclosures." Miramar didn’t lose population, but the rate of growth has been significantly reduced, Zambrano says.

Regardless of how soon Miramar pulls out of the mortgage mess, expect its heady growth days to be in the past, as the city approaches build-out, or uses up all its potential development space.

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12. Murfreesboro, Tenn.

• Population growth since 2000: 50%
• 2009 population: 105,209
• 2015 projected population: 110,000-120,000
• Employers: State Farm Insurance regional offices; Middle Tennessee State University; Verizon Wireless call center
• Median household income: $47,053 (City-data.com) 
• Check out Murfreesboro’s median home price
• Check out Murfreesboro’s median apartment rental cost

Murfreesboro, the fastest-growing major city in the state, can no longer be considered a bedroom community of Nashville, about 35 miles southeast. One reason people are coming is access: Interstate 24 runs directly through the city, and interstates 65 and 40 are just a few minutes away.

But other draws in the past several years are also keeping them closer to home: The city has become the shopping hub for a 10-county region. Commercial and industrial development boomed, bringing jobs. And a number of colleges and universities are either in or around Murfreesboro: Middle Tennessee State University, which has nearly 22,000 students, and the Tennessee Technology Center are there. Motlow State Community College, Vanderbilt University and David Lipscomb University are just a few minutes away.

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13. Denton, Texas

• Population growth since 2000: 48.5% 
• 2009 population: 122,830
• 2015 projected population: 149,695
• Employers: University of North Texas; Texas Woman’s University; headquarters of Peterbilt trucks.
• Median household income: $46,424 (City-data.com)
• Check out Denton’s median home price
• Check out Denton’s median apartment rental cost

Denton, about 35 miles north of Dallas and Fort Worth, has its two universities to thank for some its remarkable growth, says Linda Ratliff, the city’s director of economic development. The University of North Texas, the state’s fourth-largest, will have 36,000 students this fall. "It’s a small city in itself," Ratliff says. Texas Woman’s University contributes an additional 10,000 undergrads.

That’s not the only factor, however. "As the metroplex grows, it kind of spreads out, and we have a lot of land that is still developable in Denton, and people have taken advantage of that," Ratliff says. They also have been drawn to the relaxed lifestyle and low crime rate.

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CORRECTION: This slide show originally misspelled Texas Woman's University.

14. Henderson, Nev.

• Population growth since 2000: 46.1%
• 2010 population: 256,445
• 2015 projected population: 303,293
• Employers: Bellagio Hotel and Casino; Clark County; Levi Strauss & Co.; Ocean Spray Cranberries; Ford Credit; Good Humor-Breyers
• Median household income: $65,757 (City-data.com)
• Check out Henderson’s median home price
• Check out Henderson’s median apartment rental cost

Henderson has grown to become the second-largest city in Nevada, after adjacent Las Vegas. Its allure for so many can be summed up in a word: antidote. Henderson is 180 degrees from so much of what Las Vegas represents. The city has focused on creating open space, parks and trails, and fostering community; it’s the kind of quieter place you can come home to after a day working on the Strip, says Bud Cranor, a city spokesman. It doesn’t hurt that Henderson has the lowest property-tax rate in the valley.

Henderson also got hit by the mortgage meltdown, but the city planned for a time when the economy would have a downturn "so I think we’re probably in a little bit better shape than the rest of the valley," Cranor says.

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15. Irvine, Calif.

• Population growth since 2000: 45.5% 
• 2009 population: 209,716
• 2015 projected population:  225,000
• Employers: University of California-Irvine; Verizon Wireless; Allergan; Broadcom
• Median household income: $98,923
• Check out Irvine’s median home price
• Check out Irvine’s median apartment rental cost

Why does Irvine, in Southern California’s Orange County, round out our list? Irvine is one of the nation’s largest master-planned communities, and it ranked tops in California earlier this year in Money Magazine’s 2010 list of "Best Places to Live in America" based on housing, finance and quality-of-life characteristics.

What kind of quality-of-life characteristics? Schools are excellent; more than 90% of the city’s high-school graduates attend college. Crime is low; as one of the 100 largest cities in the country, Irvine for five consecutive years has been ranked as the "Safest City in America," based on FBI statistics on violent crimes. And it’s ethnically diverse, with nearly 40% of the population being Asian.

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