• Population: 778,000
• New residents: 16,300
• Percentage gain: 2.1%

At more than 340 square miles, Fort Worth is bigger than New York yet has fewer than a tenth of the Big Apple's population.

That means there's plenty of room to build housing right within the city limits so fewer people move to the suburbs, said demographer Andrew Beveridge.

The area offers a swiftly growing manufacturing center with thriving aerospace and tech industries and, along with neighboring Dallas, offers many major corporate employers including AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, and RadioShack.

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