Durham has edged out Winston-Salem as the state’s fourth-largest city — by 867 people, according to new estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau said Winston-Salem grew 1.2 percent from 2010 to 2011, adding 2,768 people to reach an estimated population of 232,385.
During the same period, Durham added 4,922 people, and its population stood at 233,252. Durham experienced a 2.2 percent growth.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Durham would be overtaking us since they were so close to us in 2010,” said Paul Norby, the director of the City-County Planning Department in Forsyth County. “I would say that the Triad area in general has had a tougher time than the Triangle and Charlotte, even though they have obviously experienced the recession, too.”
It’s not the first time the two cities have swapped places. Durham edged out Winston-Salem in the 2000 Census by about 1,300 people. A round of annexations put Winston-Salem back in fourth place in 2007, although it took a challenge to the estimates for Winston-Salem to nail down its position.
The 2010 Census showed Winston-Salem with 229,617 people – about 1,300 folks more than in Durham.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell said his city hasn’t done any annexation recently.
“I’ve got to change my speech,” Bell said. “My standard speech is that we are fifth behind Winston-Salem.”
The Census Bureau said Texas dominated the list of fast-growing cities nationwide. Among cities with at least 50,000 people, Texas cities held 13 of the top 15 slots.
Cary was the fastest-growing North Carolina city, with 139,633 people, increasing 3.3 percent between 2010 and 2011.
Among the 20 largest U.S. cities, only Austin, Texas, jumped rank, passing San Francisco to become the 13th largest city.
Charlotte added almost 20,000 people between 2010 and 2011 and remained the state’s largest city, the Census Bureau said. Raleigh added about 13,000 people and stayed in second place.
Norby said he was surprised that Greensboro, which increased 1.4 percent, grew faster than Winston-Salem. Unemployment has been lower in Forsyth than in Guilford, he said.
In the Triad, Burlington was the fastest-growing city, increasing 1.9 percent over its 2010 population to cross the 50,000 mark. The other fastest-growing towns were all in Alamance and Guilford counties and increased about 1.5 percent.
“If you have a two-wage-earner household in Burlington and Alamance you can be looking for work in the Triangle or the Triad,” Norby said. “They are reachable by commuting to either.”
Most of the places in Forsyth County grew a little slower – 1.2 to 1.3 percent was the norm – with Walkertown growing the fastest at 1.3 percent.
Echoing a trend that was noted in county estimates released earlier this year, most towns and cities in the rest of Northwest North Carolina experienced little or no growth. Norby said he suspects that people in the outlying areas may be moving to Forsyth to be nearer to work in an era of high gas prices.
Winston-Salem officials say they are setting the stage for solid growth that hasn’t taken hold yet.
“I think our day is coming,” Norby said. “Keep in mind that the Triangle area is several years ahead of us in terms of their transition from the old-style economy and toward the education, knowledge-based and research-oriented economy.”
Gayle Anderson, the president and chief executive of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, said that while being fourth place is “an ego thing” and not that significant, it would still be better not to slip.
“I have always said that relatively slow but steady growth is better for the long haul,” she said. “That way, you don’t outgrow your infrastructure.”
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said his city and Durham “have been jockeying back and forth for a good while.”
“The main thing that most companies are looking for is talented workers,” Joines said. “When a company is looking at the Triad, they figure they are going to draw from an entire region of 1.7 million people. That helps us.”
Joines had a message for Bell, whom he has known for years.
“Just tell him that we will catch up with him next year,” he said.
By: WESLEY YOUNG (Winston-Salem Journal)
Published: June 28, 2012
Updated: June 28, 2012 – 12:16 AM
