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Olive Branch, Miss., is No. 1

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Olive Branch, Miss., is No. 1 Fastest-growing city in Alabama: Madison* Fastest-growing city in Alaska: Anchorage Fastest-growing city in Arizona: Queen Creek Fastest-growing city in Arkansas: Bentonville Fastest-growing city in California: Danville Fastest-growing city in Colorado: Black Forest Fastest-growing city in Connecticut: Stamford Fastest-growing city in Delaware: Dover Fastest-growing city in Florida: Fruit Cove Fastest-growing city in Georgia: Calhoun Fastest-growing city in Hawaii: Kailua Fastest-growing city in Idaho: Meridian Fastest-growing city in Illinois: Batavia Fastest-growing city in Indiana: West Lafayette Fastest-growing city in Iowa: Ankeny Fastest-growing city in Kansas: Leawood Fastest-growing city in Kentucky: Elizabethtown Fastest-growing city in Louisiana: Mandeville Fastest-growing city in Maine: Lewiston Fastest-growing city in Maryland: Ellicott City Fastest-growing city in Massachusetts: Lexington Fastest-growing city in Michigan: East Lansing Fastest-growing city in Minnesota: Lakeville Fastest-growing city in Mississippi: Olive Branch Fastest-growing city in Missouri: Ballwin Fastest-growing city in Montana: Bozeman Fastest-growing city in Nebraska: Kearney Fastest-growing city in Nevada: Summerlin South Fastest-growing city in New Hampshire: Dover Fastest-growing city in New Jersey: Englewood Fastest-growing city in New Mexico: Albuquerque Fastest-growing city in New York: Coram Fastest-growing city in North Carolina: Cary Fastest-growing city in North Dakota: Fargo Fastest-growing city in Ohio: Dublin Fastest-growing city in Oklahoma: Bixby Fastest-growing city in Oregon: West Linn Fastest-growing city in Pennsylvania: Back Mountain Fastest-growing city in Rhode Island: Newport Fastest-growing city in South Carolina: Fort Mill Fastest-growing city in South Dakota: Sioux Falls Fastest-growing city in Tennessee: Spring Hill Fastest-growing city in Texas: Keller Fastest-growing city in Utah: South Jordan Fastest-growing city in Vermont: Burlington Fastest-growing city in Virginia: Linton Hall Fastest-growing city in Washington: North Creek Fastest-growing city in West Virginia: Morgantown Fastest-growing city in Wisconsin: Madison Fastest-growing city in Wyoming: Gillette

Olive Branch, Miss., is No. 1

By Venessa Wong

America keeps getting bigger. The U.S. population grew 9.7 percent over the past decade, yet some cities grew much faster. These areas became denser and some sprawled into neighboring territory as people had children and newcomers moved in for jobs, life style advantages, affordable housing, and good schools. In a ranking compiled for Businessweek.com, Little Rock-based location-analysis firm Gadberry Group identified the fastest-growing place per state. (See note below.) The number one boom town? Olive Branch, Miss. Others include by Keller, Tex. and Ellicott City, Md. The ranking was based on growth in households year-on-year and from 2000 to 2010, as well as such other factors as the 2010 average length of residence and the change in average household income from 2000 to 2010. Household growth from 2000 to 2010 was given the most weight in order to account for areas that have been growing for a long time, compared to new-growth areas. Only places with 10,000 or more households in 2010 were considered.

Note: The area used in Gadberry's analysis is not intended to correspond to city or municipal boundaries. As a result, the data does not correspond with results from the 2000 and 2010 Census. In most cases the area discussed includes the city or town and surrounding areas contained within Census block groups associated with the city or place by the U.S. Census Bureau, in order to account for sprawl. Trends for a greater area may thus differ from those of a city, as growth often occurs beyond city boundaries.