Community Corner

Burnsville Ranks Among Top 500 Fastest Growing Large Cities in U.S.

Burnsville's boom years may be receding into the rearview, but the city is still growing, at least from a statistical standpoint.
 
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, Burnsville grew 1.4 percent from 2010 to 2012, giving it a rank of number 481 of the top 700 fastest growing cities over 50,000 in the U.S. Burnsville was not the only fully built-out city on the list. Its northern neighbor, Bloomington, grew 3.8 percent over two years. Bloomington ranked 130 on the list, which was released last week.

The statistics hint at a second wind for older suburbs like Burnsville. The Star Tribune, citing city officials and experts, listed four factors behind  suburban growth, particularly in the inner-ring, described by the new Census figures:

  • The aging of [so-called "fully developed"] cities, which emptied them out as kids grew up and moved away, is about over in its population impact.
  • A sharp spike in affordability is drawing in younger families, and in some places the larger families associated with immigrants.
  • High and volatile gas prices are creating a competitive advantage for cities closer to people’s jobs, many of them in the suburbs. Vacancies are declining as the market strengthens.
  • There’s a new magnet in the form of a growing system of rail transitways, which draws interest from developers.
Here's a list of the largest Minnesota cities, ranked by growth:
  1. Maple Grove, 4.6 percent (Nationwide rank: 73)
  2. Woodbury, 4.1 percent (108)
  3. Blaine, 3.9 percent (123)
  4. Bloomington, 3.8 percent (130)
  5. Plymouth, 3.3 percent (173)
  6. Minnetonka, 2.8 percent (259)
  7. Minneapolis, 2.7 percent (276)
  8. Brooklyn Park, 2.6 percent (289)
  9. Lakeville, 2.5 percent (305)
  10. Eden Prairie, 2.4 percent (315)
  11. Rochester, 2.1 percent (359)
  12. St. Paul, 2 percent (379)
  13. Burnsville, 1.4 percent (481)
  14. Eagan, 1 percent (539)
  15. Coon Rapids, .7 percent (582)
Burnsville's growth rate pales in comparison to its less developed neighbors, however. Hot spots like Savage, Shakopee and Rosemount were excluded from the Census' national list due to their size (at present they have fewer than 50,000 people within their borders). 

Here's a list of south metro communities, ranked by growth rates alone:
  1. Jordan, 6.6 percent
  2. Shakopee, 4.5 percent
  3. Prior Lake, 4.2 percent
  4. Savage, 3.9 percent tied with Chanhassen, 3.9 percent
  5. Rosemount tied with Northfield and Lakeville, all grew 2.5 percent
  6. Eden Prairie, 2.4 percent 
  7. Apple Valley, 1.8 percent
  8. Burnsville, 1.4 percent tied with New Prague, 1.4 percent 
  9. Chaska, 1.3 percent
  10. South St. Paul, 1.2 percent
  11. Eagan, 1 percent
  12. Inver Grove, .9 percent tied with West St. Paul, .9 percent
  13. Hastings, .7 percent
  14. Mendota Heights, .6 percent
Further resources:Editor's Note: Chris Steller contributed to this report.


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