Indianapolis falls out of top 15 on list of most populous U.S. cities

Keywords Census / Population
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Indianapolis is no longer one of the country’s 15 largest cities, according to population figures released late last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

With 874,168 people, Fort Worth, Texas, moved past Indianapolis, which has a population of 863,002, according to the bureau’s 2017 population estimates.

The Census Bureau said Fort Worth added 18,664 people between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017. Indianapolis added an estimated 5,549 people.

The top 14 cities in the country remained the same: New York City (8,622,698), Los Angeles (3,999,759), Chicago (2,716,450), Houston (2,312,717), Phoenix (1,626,078), Philadelphia (1,580,863), San Antonio (1,511,946), San Diego (1,419,516), Dallas (1,341,075), San Jose (1,035,317), Austin (950,715), Jacksonville (892,062) and San Francisco (884,363) and Columbus, Ohio (879,170).

Eight of the 15 cities or towns with the largest population gains were located in the South in 2017, with three of the top five in Texas. San Antonio led the way with an increase of 24,200 people.

In Indiana, 55 of the state's 92 counties had a population increase last year—the largest number of Indiana counties to post a gain since 2008, according to census figures analyzed by the Indiana Business Research Center.

Marion County, with 950,082 residents, ranked as the nation's 52nd most populous county in 2017 out of 3,142 counties. The county, which contains areas not included in Indianapolis' population figures, added 6,048 residents.

The 11-county Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metro area, with about 2.03 million residents, added about 23,000 residents last year. The Indy metro area ranks as the nation's 34th largest metro area out of 381 metros.

Indiana's six fastest-growing counties were all in the Indianapolis metro area. Boone County had a 2.5 percent increase, followed by Hamilton (2.4 percent), Hendricks (2.1 percent), Hancock (1.6 percent), Johnson (1.6 percent) and Putnam (1.2 percent) counties.  
On a numerical basis, Hamilton County led the state in population growth by adding 7,451 residents.

Statewide, Indiana added 32,800 residents in 2017—a 0.5 percent increase. It was the state's largest annual population gain since 2009.

With nearly 6.67 million residents, Indiana was the nation's 17th most populous state last year. It ranked as the 25th fastest-growing state in 2017, with growth outpacing each of its neighboring states.

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