Census: Maricopa, Pinal counties continue to stand out with population gains

Maricopa County saw the fourth highest raw-numbers population increase in the U.S. in 2023, while Pinal County south of Phoenix saw the nation’s seventh-highest level of net domestic migration, according to new numbers released by U.S. Census Bureau this month.

The Census Bureau’s Vintage 2023 Population Estimates show Maricopa County’s position dropping from 2022, when it was the largest-gaining county nationwide. Maricopa County welcomed 30,038 new residents between July 2022 and July 2023, clocking in with an overall population of 4,425,102. That made it the fourth-largest county in the nation, behind Los Angeles County; Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago; and Harris County, Texas, which encompasses Houston.

The entire Phoenix metro gained 49,240 residents between 2022 and 2023, giving it a population of 5,070,110, according to the estimates. That made it the U.S. metro with the eighth-largest growth. The Dallas and Houston metros led by far in that category, with more than 152,000 and 139,000 new residents, respectively. Texas and Florida had seven of the top 10 fastest-growing metro areas.

Just to the south of Phoenix, Pinal County grew by 17,463 net residents in 2023, which was a jump from just over 14,000 in 2022. The Census Bureau’s July 2023 population estimate for Pinal County is 484,239, meaning the county’s net domestic migration was up 3.74% year over year.

Pinal County’s population has grown 13.7% from its 2020 population of 425,264, the Census Bureau reported. The county’s growth has been bolstered by the establishment of major manufacturing operations from the likes of Lucid, Nikola, Kohler and several others. Those employers have spurred residential growth, with homebuilders active in Maricopa, Casa Grande, San Tan Valley and elsewhere.

In all, about 60% of all 3,144 counties in the U.S. saw a population gain between 2022 and 2023, which was up from 52% a year earlier.

“Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,” said Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, in a statement. “Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth. Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out west, such as in Arizona and Idaho."

Counties in Western states, which saw the highest average population change in 2022, fell behind the South in 2023, the report said. In the West, the average annual growth among counties slowed from 0.51% to 0.34%, while in the South the numbers were nearly reversed, jumping from 0.31% in 2022 to 0.56% in 2023.