Why the Fastest-Growing City Depends on Your Population Filter

Niederwald grew from 716 to 1,168 residents in the July 2024–2025 interval. Its 452-resident increase gives a growth rate of 63.13%. That is the highest rate among the 19,467 active whole incorporated places with positive starting populations in this dataset.

The percentage is valid for that denominator, but it does not say that the place added the most residents. A few hundred additional people can produce a large percentage when a place begins with a few hundred residents. A numeric-growth ranking answers the separate question of which city added the most residents.

With at least 10,000 starting residents, Celina leads at 24.58%, adding 12,710 residents. With at least 100,000 starting residents, Goodyear leads at 6.54%, adding 7,690. The source values have not changed; only the comparison universe has.

The table tests five explicit starting-population thresholds using July 1, 2024 totals. A threshold on the ending population would select a different universe: a place can cross that threshold during the interval. For a small-base growth comparison, keep the beginning-year condition visible and report it alongside the result.

The eligible universe contains 19,471 active whole incorporated-place records. It includes supported cities, towns, villages and boroughs. Eight source-published consolidated-government balances are preserved on separate profiles but excluded from this ordinary-place ranking. County/place parts are relationships, not additional whole cities.

Census-designated places and metropolitan areas are outside this incorporated-place totals universe. A fast-growing metro, a county and its largest city can have different rates. The place code and geography type must travel with an exported growth rate to prevent similarly named entities from being confused.

The city totals source does not publish city-level births, deaths or migration components. A large percentage therefore cannot be labeled as city migration inflow from this file alone. Nor does the rate establish whether a particular annexation, development or policy caused the change; those explanations require additional verified evidence.

Source revisions and geographic updates also belong in the metadata. Comparing a 2024 estimate from an older vintage with a 2025 estimate from the latest release can mix revision differences into a growth rate. The analysis here uses both observations from Vintage 2025 and makes no projection from the recent rate.

A report about small municipalities can legitimately include very small places. A comparison of larger city-service systems may need a higher starting-population threshold. Neither threshold is universally correct, and neither is presented here as an official Census definition. The important requirements are to select it deliberately, explain it and make the resulting list reproducible.

Open the city growth ranking to change the minimum 2024 population and export visible rows. Use the accompanying absolute-change column to assess the scale of each increase. An indexed five-year chart adds temporal context but should not conceal the actual beginning and ending populations.