Dallas County is among the top 10 fastest growing counties in the nation, according to new U.S. Census Bureau county and metropolitan statistical area population estimates for 2018 that were released by the State Data Center. The county ranked as eighth-fastest nationwide, with an increase in population of more than 36%, or 90,180 people, since 2010. After Dallas County, the fastest growing counties in Iowa were Johnson, with a 15.6 percent increase, and Polk, which grew at 13.1 percent by adding 56,572 people since 2010, the biggest population boost in the state. “Iowa’s population growth over the last decade has been centered around metropolitan counties,” said Gary Krob, State Data Center coordinator. “Most of the 30 counties that have seen growth since 2010 are either part of a metropolitan area or are adjacent to one.” More than half of the state population (52.8 percent) lives in Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, Story, Dubuque, Pottawattamie and Dallas counties. For metropolitan statistical areas, the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area was the fastest growing in Iowa since 2010 with a growth of 15.1 percent, followed by the Iowa City metro area at 13.6 percent; and the Ames metro area at 9.6 percent growth. Clinton was one of 69 counties in Iowa that have lost population since 2010 and had the highest decline, losing 2,599 people, while Emmett County declined at the fastest rate, losing 10.2 percent of its population. A loss in net migration occurred in 80 Iowa counties, where more people moved out of the county than in. The data is available here.