Metro Houston added nearly 200,000 residents in ’24, bringing its population to 7.8 million people. That’s Houston’s largest increase on record and equates to a new resident every 2.7 minutes. Last year continued a trend of brisk growth, with the region adding over one million people during the previous decade. Population in the 10-county region now exceeds that of 37 states, along with Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Houston ranked second in the number of residents added in ‘24 behind New York City. It added more residents than Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas/Fort Worth, even though they each have larger populations.

At 2.5 percent, Houston also had the second-highest population growth rate among major metros, trailing only Orlando. It grew more than twice as quickly as the U.S. overall. While all of the top 20 largest metros recorded population increases, only Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, and Orlando saw their populations grow at a rate above 2.0 percent.

Houston’s gains came from two sources—natural increase and net migration. Natural increase reflects births minus deaths in the region. Net migration includes people who moved into Houston minus those who moved out. Three-quarters of Houston’s gains came from migration and one-quarter from natural increase. The ratio has been stable over the last three years. But, over the long term, it does shift with the business cycle. Migration accounts for a larger share of growth when the region’s economy booms (as it has since the COVID-19 recovery) and a smaller share when it slows (like in ’17 and ’18).

 

Metro Houston ranked first in net migration among all U.S. metros in ’24. Each of the top 20 largest metros had positive migration in ‘24, i.e., more residents moving into them than out of them.