DALLAS — The fastest-growing city in the U.S. last year was a Dallas suburb that saw its population jump by nearly a third.
The number of residents in Princeton, about 46 miles north of Dallas, increased from about 28,000 to 37,000 from 2023 to 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau said last week. The growth came so quickly that the city — which more than doubled its population since 2020 — struggled to build roads and infrastructure fast enough as it transforms from a farming community.
Princeton Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. said that when he first moved to the area more than a decade ago, there were just two stoplights, and residents had to do their shopping in the next town over. Princeton now has several stoplights and a Walmart, he said, but has had to implement a temporary moratorium on new home construction so infrastructure can keep pace.
Cities of all sizes grew on average from 2023 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 estimates, with New York City, Houston and Los Angeles seeing the greatest numeric gains and some cities in the Northeast and Midwest marking their first population increase in recent years.
The U.S. Census Bureau said two cities in that time period crossed the 1 million-population threshold: Fort Worth, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida…