Loudoun is still Virginia’s fastest growing county, but its Northern Virginia neighbors are not far behind.
University of Virginia researchers estimate more than 35,000 people moved into Loudoun County from the 2010 census to July 1 of last year, an 11.4 percent growth rate. That made Loudoun the fastest-growing county in Virginia.
Arlington County, which added 19,500 people in that time, ranked second with a growth rate of 9.4 percent, according to data from U.Va.’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Prince William County ranked fourth with a growth rate of 7.3 percent as more than 29,000 people moved in.
Fairfax County added nearly as many new citizens as Loudoun during the time period but its larger size depressed its growth rate to 3 percent, in line with Virginia as a whole.
Every year the Weldon Cooper Center develops official population estimates for Virginia and its counties and independent cities to illuminate population counts between decennial censuses.
Among cities, Fredericksburg grew the fastest at 15.1 percent, Alexandria and Falls Church tied for second at 8 percent and Manassas ranked third at 7.6 percent.
