Census bureau data shows rapid population growth due to the energy boom.

Oil- and gas-rich areas in and near the Great Plains contained many of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. last year, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. Areas along and near the Gulf Coast were also home to several high-growth communities. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries were the most rapidly growing part of our nation's economy over the last several years. A major reason was the energy boom on the Plains, which attracted job seekers from around the country The data in the report provide a bigger picture of why certain areas may be growing or shrinking, which is critical for business and government decision-making.

Of the nation's 10 fastest-growing metropolitan statistical areas in the year ending July 1, 2013, six were within or near the Great Plains, including Odessa, Texas; Midland, Texas; Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota; Bismarck, North Dakota; Casper, Wyoming; and Austin-Round Rock, Texas.

Micropolitan statistical areas, which contain an urban cluster of between 10,000 and 49,999 people, followed a similar pattern, with seven located in or adjacent to the Great Plains among the fastest-growing between 2012 and 2013. Williston, North Dakota, ranked first in growth (10.7 percent), followed by Dickinson, North Dakota; Andrews, Texas; Minot, North Dakota; and two areas in western Oklahoma (Weatherford and Woodward) also made the top 10, as did Hobbs, New Mexico.

The nation's fastest-growing metro area between 2012 and 2013 was The Villages, Florida. Its population rose by 5.2 percent over the period. The Gulf Coast metro areas of Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama, and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, also made the top 10 list.

U.S. metro areas with populations of 1 million or more in 2012 grew 1 percent, compared with 0.5 percent for those with populations of less than 250,000. The 1,335 counties not inside either a metro area or micro area had a collective population decline of 35,674 between 2012 and 2013, with more than six in 10 of these counties losing population. Overall, 51 percent of counties in the United States gained population between 2012 and 2013. In 68 percent of counties, births outnumbered deaths. Net migration (including both domestic and international migration) had a positive or neutral impact on population...