Percent population change, CensusThe Birmingham-Hoover MSA grew by just 2,116 people in 2017-2018. The area ranked 251^th out of 383 MSAs in terms of population growth rate, according to an analysis of census data conducted by the Public Research Council of Alabama.

The Huntsville MSA led the state in percentage of population growth, ranking it 64^th in the country. It added 6,952 people to its ranks in the period.

Other large metros in the state fell below Birmingham-Hoover in terms of growth, with Mobile ranked 324^th and Montgomery 327^th. However, those two areas lost population in 2017-2018, as did some other metro areas in the U.S.

Though the Birmingham-Hoover area falls behind Huntsville in percentage population growth and the number of people added, it still is more than twice as large as the Huntsville MSA, which is the second most-populous MSA in the state, the report points out.

PARCA has updated its maps and charts that allow people to explore metro and county population changes to include new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Read the report and access PARCA’s tools here.