Fastest Growing Cities in Iowa (2007 Census Estimates)

[Go Ne]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

And then DSM population = Omaha population and we can stop having silly pissing matches over who's town is better! I can't wait

Omaha will be growing too just so you know. And the debates might increase.

[ehenningsen]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

And then DSM population = Omaha population and we can stop having silly pissing matches over who's town is better! I can't wait

Yeah, to me it doesn't matter much because both cities are growing and are pulling in nice developments and both metropolitan areas are in a populated area where they both will pull in additional counties, like Des Moines-Ames etc and Omaha/Lincoln etc..

Both cities are primed, underrated, growing and great.. With that said, it is okay to have a jab at each other and I know that for the most part it is a respected sibling rivalry..

[Roy G. Biv]

Regarding the original post, the fastest growing towns in iowa will always be small towns because its naturally based on percentage increase and one small change in a small town can have a relatively large impact on the population. So a town of 2000 people that opens one new plant and 100 people move there will be measured as faster growing than if a city like Cedar Rapids has 100 new businesses and 5000 new people.

A more important question might be whether living in a fast growing town is preferable to one that is stable, thriving, and well-established. I work in a high school that is in an extremely fast growing suburb and it wreaks havoc on transportation infrastructure and the school system. As far as Des Moines and Omaha, I wouldn't live in either town because they both have horrible sprawl problems and everything is extremely way too spread out, impersonal, and inconvenient to access.

[primalclaws1974]

I think that your data is a little inaccurate. If you compare what you have to city-data's up to 2006, it doesn't line up at all. I doubt THAT much change came in 2007.
What appears obvious to me is that at least in the des moines area, people are moving to the suburbs. DSM lost a fair amount of people, but almost all of the bigger suburbs are growing by leaps and bounds (Ankeny, Waukee, Altoona are examples)!
Someone also stated that central Iowa and areas close to des moines and the east will continue to grow. I live in Grinnell, and although we are not large, we had a 2.9% growth from 2000-2006. We are somewhat isolated, being 51 miles to Des moines and 64 to Iowa City, but we are in a heavy traffic area to larger cities in ALL DIRECTIONS, and I think we will continue to grow.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by Roy G. Biv

As far as Des Moines and Omaha, I wouldn't live in either town because they both have horrible sprawl problems and everything is extremely way too spread out, impersonal, and inconvenient to access.

That doesn't make sense.

You can live in either city and chose not to live in a sprawling suburb and thus your concern is voided. If you pick the right neighborhood, you can be within walking distance or short drives of most of what you need.

[SharpHawkeye]

Originally Posted by primalclaws1974

I think that your data is a little inaccurate. If you compare what you have to city-data's up to 2006, it doesn't line up at all. I doubt THAT much change came in 2007.
What appears obvious to me is that at least in the des moines area, people are moving to the suburbs. DSM lost a fair amount of people, but almost all of the bigger suburbs are growing by leaps and bounds (Ankeny, Waukee, Altoona are examples)!
Someone also stated that central Iowa and areas close to des moines and the east will continue to grow. I live in Grinnell, and although we are not large, we had a 2.9% growth from 2000-2006. We are somewhat isolated, being 51 miles to Des moines and 64 to Iowa City, but we are in a heavy traffic area to larger cities in ALL DIRECTIONS, and I think we will continue to grow.

Whose data? There's been a lot of data thrown around in this thread...