The Sunbelt Rises Again!
Counties surrounding Sunbelt metros such as Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, Houston, and Dallas saw strong population growth in 2015-16 according to the census bureau.
Maricopa county, AZ, home to Phoenix, added the most residents in 2015-16 replacing Harris county, TX, home to Houston, from the top-spot it held for 8 years in a row. Maricopa county added 81,360 residents compared to Harris county's 56,587. In fact, Harris county lost residents to domestic migration (-16,225) most likely driven by the problems faced by the Petrochemicals sector - Houston's primary industry.
Snowbelt cities such as St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Buffalo bled the most residents to their sunbelt counterparts such as Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, etc.
Big coastal cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles all saw slowed domestic migration over the last year owing primarily to their high living costs.
This snow-to-sun migration is driven, to a large extent, by older boomer residents looking for a warmer climate and lower living costs.
Curbed has a great article on this migration here.
Census Bureau's press release can he accessed here.
