Top 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities
City/% growth/2012 population
1. San Marcos, Texas/4.91/50,001
2. South Jordan, Utah/4.87/55,934
3. Midland, Texas/4.87/119,385
4. Cedar Park, Texas/4.67/57,957
5. Clarksville, Tenn./4.43/142,519
6. Alpharetta, Ga./4.37/61,981
7. Georgetown, Texas/4.21/52,303
8. Irvine, Calif./4.21/229,985
9. Buckeye, Ariz./4.14/54,542
10. Conroe, Texas/4.01/61,533
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Note: Ratings are for cities of 50,000 and over.
Alpharetta is Georgia’s fastest-growing city and the sixth-fastest in the country, figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show.
The north Fulton County city, long touted as a darling to tech companies, grew more than 4 percent between July 2011 and July 2012.
San Marcos, Texas, with a population of 50,001, led the list with a growth rate of 4.9 percent.
Alpharetta’s official population now stands at 61,981.
“That’s awesome,” said Richard Debban, president of the Alpharetta Business Association. “I’m not surprised.”
Debban, an architect, credited the increase to the city’s efforts to acquire more assets that raise the quality of life for residents. He cited the new $600 million Avalon Development, a mixed-use property off Ga. 400, the city’s $30 million downtown redevelopment project now under construction, a new library and a new $10 million independent care living facility that recently opened.
“We’ve just got so much going for us, it’s exciting,” Debban said.
The census figures were compiled using a formula based on updated housing information and occupancy rates from the 2010 census.
Records from Alpharetta show evidence of the upswing. New building permits were up by nearly 500 in 2012 from the low of 2,516 in 2010.
And the trend is continuing this year, primarily in residential property.
While commercial permit fees in April were down by nearly half from each of the previous three Aprils, residential permit fees nearly doubled. The same holds true in square footage for residential, which was up by more than 25 percent last month over each of the previous five Aprils.
The city has revved up its marketing efforts in recent years, touting its schools and its $40,000 homestead exemption for residents, the highest in metro Atlanta, Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said.
Alpharetta was also the first north Fulton city to offer financial incentives to new businesses that meet certain employment and size criteria.
Mayor David Belle Isle said the city has also launched the state’s first technology commission, which will study an incubator program for technology startups.
“We are leading; We are investing; We are growing,” Belle Isle said. “And, its great to see that these efforts have not gone unnoticed.”
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