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Phoenix Area Now 11th Largest U.S. Metro, Surpassing San Francisco Bay Area

New U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday indicates continuing growth for Arizona. 

Phoenix gained about 24,000 new residents in 2017, according to the Census Bureau. That made it the second fastest growing city behind San Antonio, Texas. Phoenix now has a population of slightly more than 1.6 million people

Maricopa County was the fastest-growing county in 2017, and the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro population surpassed the San Francisco Bay area becoming the 11th largest U.S. metro area.

Even though Phoenix was the second fastest growing city, that rate actually slowed a little a little last year.

Nationally, cities in the southeast and western parts of the country showed the most growth.

Al Macias, former KJZZ news director, retired as KJZZ's news director in 2022. He rejoined the station as a features reporter in 2023 and also as a part-time editor in 2024.