Th new census stats seem to emphasize some of the fastest growth around the country in mid-sized or smaller metro areas; in the year from the summer of 2006 to mid-2007, the fastest percentage growth in the Northwest among metros was in the Boise area (and it was by that measure the 13th fastest-growing nationally).
Here's how the numbers stack up, drawn from the Census Bureau's list of the 100 largest-growing (by raw numbers) metro areas around the country. Number 1 overall was Dallas-Fort Worth.
rank | metro | 07 pop | % incr frm 06 | added pop |
13 | Seattle | 3,262,445 | 1.4 | 46,902 |
15 | Portland | 2,175,113 | 1.9 | 41,338 |
32 | Boise | 587,689 | 3.5 | 19,948 |
68 | Spokane | 456,175 | 2.0 | 8,783 |
83 | Salem | 386,714 | 1.8 | 6,852 |
99 | Olympia | 238,555 | 2.3 | 5,388 |
100 | Tri-Cities | 228,992 | 2.4 | 5,305 |
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By percentage growth in the Northwest, the top growers were Boise (number 13), Idaho Falls (15), Bend (17), Coeur d'Alene (29), the Tri-Cities (41), Olympia (43) and Bellingham (52), Spokane (73), Portland (76), Salem (83), Wenatchee (85) and Longview (96). A small slice of Idaho around Preston is included in the Logan, Utah, metro, which ranks at 51.