One Houston suburb experienced one of the most rapid growth spurts in the country last year: Fulshear, whose population grew by 25.6 percent, more than 51 times that of the nation’s growth rate of 0.5 percent. The city’s population was 42,616 as of July 1, 2023.

According to U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2023 Population Estimates, released Thursday, May 16, Fulshear — which lies west of Katy in northwest Fort Bend County – ranked No. 2 on the list of fastest-growing cities with a population of 20,000 or more. It’s no wonder iconic Houston restaurants like Molina’s Cantina see opportunities there.

The South still dominates the nation’s growth, even as America’s Northeast and Midwest cities are rebounding slightly from years of population drops. The census estimates showed 13 of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. were in the South — eight in Texas alone.

The Texas cities joining Fulshear on the fastest-growing-cities list are:

• Celina (No. 1) with 26.6 percent growth (42,616 total population)
• Princeton (No. 3) with 22.3 percent growth (28,027 total population)
• Anna (No. 4) with 16.9 percent growth (27,501 total population)
• Georgetown (No. 8) with 10.6 percent growth (96,312 total population)
• Prosper (No. 9) with 10.5 percent growth (41,660 total population)
• Forney (No. 10) with 10.4 percent growth (35,470 total population)
• Kyle (No. 11) with 9 percent growth (62,548 total population)

Texas trends
San Antonio saw the biggest growth spurt in the United States last year, numbers-wise. The Alamo City added about 22,000 residents. San Antonio now has nearly 1.5 million people, making it the the seventh largest city in the U.S. and second largest in Texas.

Its population boom was followed by those of other Southern cities, including Fort Worth; Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Fast-growing Fort Worth (978,000) surpassed San Jose, California (970,000) to become the 12th most populous city in the country.

Meanwhile, population slowed in the Austin area. Jacksonville, Florida (986,000), outpaced Austin (980,000), pushing the Texas capital to 11th largest city in the U.S. (barely ahead of Fort Worth).

Population growth in Georgetown, outside Austin, slowed by more than one-fourth its population growth in 2022, the report says, from 14.4 percent to 10.6 percent. It’s the same story in the Central Texas city of Kyle, whose population growth decreased by nearly 2 percent to 9 percent in 2023.

Most populated cities
New York City with nearly 8.3 million people remained the nation’s largest city in population as of July 1, 2023. Los Angeles was second at close to 4 million residents, while Chicago was third at 2.7 million and Houston was fourth at 2.3 million residents.

The 15 populous U.S. cities in 2023 were:

1. New York, New York (8.3 million)
2. Los Angeles, California (4 million)
3. Chicago, Illinois (2.7 million)
4. Houston, Texas (2.3 million)
5. Phoenix, Arizona (1.7 million)
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.6 million)
7. San Antonio (1.5 million)
8. San Diego, California (1.4 million)
9. Dallas (1.3 million)
10. Jacksonville, Florida (986,000)
11. Austin (980,000)
12. Fort Worth (978,000)
13. San Jose (970,000)
14. Columbus, Ohio (913,000)
15. Charlotte, North Carolina (911,000)

Modest reversals of population declines were seen last year in large cities in the nation’s Northeast and Midwest. Detroit, for example, which grew for the first time in decades, had seen an exodus of people since the 1950s. Yet the estimates released Thursday show the population of Michigan’s largest city rose by just 1,852 people from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 last year.

It’s a milestone for Detroit, which had 1.8 million residents in the 1950s only to see its population dwindle and then plummet through suburban white flight, a 1967 race riot, the migration to the suburbs by many of the Black middle class and the national economic downturn that foreshadowed the city’s 2013 bankruptcy filing.

Three of the largest cities in the U.S. that had been bleeding residents this decade staunched those departures somewhat. New York City, which has lost almost 550,000 residents this decade so far, saw a drop of only 77,000 residents last year, about three-fifths the numbers from the previous year.

Los Angeles lost only 1,800 people last year, following a decline in the 2020s of almost 78,000 residents. Chicago, which has lost almost 82,000 people this decade, only had a population drop of 8,200 residents last year.

And San Francisco, which has lost a greater share of residents this decade than any other big city — almost 7.5 percent — actually grew by more than 1,200 residents last year.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

SNAP recipients in Texas are now eligible to collect replacement benefits following severe storms in the Lone Star State.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are issued monthly to low- and no-income households to help them buy groceries. Following a storms and tornadoes, eligible claimants in Texas can apply for replacement benefits up to the value of the goods purchased using their SNAP electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card.

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Severe storms hit Texas beginning on Thursday, May 16, causing damage to property, flooding and downed trees, while leaving thousands without power. Four people are confirmed to have died as a result. According to a report by Reuters, more than 100,000 households and businesses are still without power.

“Due to recent severe weather and flooding that devastated communities across our state, impacted Texans will be able to apply for SNAP replacement benefits for food that was lost or destroyed during these devastating storms,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “Eligible Texans can apply for these benefits by dialing 2-1-1. I thank the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for working with our federal partners to ensure Texans have the resources they need to recover and move forward from these storms.”

Who Can Get Replacement SNAP?

Those living in Austin, Chambers, Colorado, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker and Waller counties are eligible to get replacement SNAP benefits if their groceries were lost or destroyed during the deadly storms.

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Recipients can apply by phone, mail or fax. Those wishing to apply by phone can dial 2-1-1 and select option two. For anyone wanting to apply by post, they should download a Form H1855 (Affidavit for Nonreceipt or Destroyed SNAP Benefits) and either mail it to Texas Health and Human Services Commission, P.O. Box 149027, Austin, TX, 78714-9027, or fax it to 877-447-2839.

Applicants must specify on the form the value of the lost or destroyed groceries, as well as how much in benefits they receive per month.

When replacement SNAP benefits become available, there is usually a 10-day time limit on applying following the discovery of lost groceries. However, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has clarified that in this instance the time-limit has been waived.

Newsweek contacted the FNS via email outside of normal working hours for comment.

Any SNAP recipients who live outside of the specified counties but were still affected by last week’s storms can still apply for replacement benefits, but they must do this in person at a local benefits office. However, the 10-day time limit applies to anyone not in the listed areas.

If successful, claimants will receive their replacement funds on their Lone Star Cards within two days.