Population hits lucky 13

The list of the nation’s fastest-growing cities with populations over 100,000 people included some of the usual booming suburbs like Nos. 1 and 2 Frisco, Texas, and Cary, N.C, respectively. There were also large cities like New Orleans (No. 4) and Fort Worth (No. 11).

But an unfamiliar city stood at No. 13 on the U.S. Census Bureau’s list, which was released Tuesday. Odessa, with a 3 percent population increase, sits between Roseville, Calif., and Raleigh, N.C. The list, which includes 276 cities nationwide, measures per capita population change between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

The estimates show Odessa’s population growing by nearly 3,000 people in a year, from 97,824 in 2008 to 100,807 in 2009.

Mayor Larry Melton said the numbers reflect the city making strides in adding housing and retail options.

“This shows that our efforts in diversifying our economy in business development are working,” he said.

Still, the numbers show Odessa’s economy follows the cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry, said Mike George, president of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce.

George said he would expect Odessa’s growth to drop when numbers are released for the past year, when the area saw increases in unemployment due to fluctuations in oil and gas prices.

“I would suspect our rate of growth will be substantially diminished for the ’09-’10 year, however, I would expect the ’10-’11 year to have a substantial growth rate,” he said.

Expansion of non-petroleum areas like medical and higher educational facilities has helped the area to continue to grow during down times for oil, George said.

Other West Texas cities found themselves on the population growth list including No. 23 Midland, which increased its population 2.6 percent to 108,666 and No. 36 Lubbock, which jumped 2.1 percent to 225,856.

Overall, 19 of the 50 fastest-growing cities were in Texas.

George said that Texas keeping taxes on business relatively low and the implementation of tort reform have been factors in the state’s population growth.

“I think that can primarily be attributed to the fact that our state legislature understands that we need to be a business friendly state, and not make punitive laws that prohibit business from being able to grow and expand,” he said.

Melton sees continued expansion for Odessa.

“I think we will be well prepared to meet the future, and I think we will continue to grow our community,” he said.