Alabama grew faster than much of the nation in 2022, and nearly all of that growth came either at the edges of the state, in suburbs around Alabama’s biggest cities or in the counties that contain the state’s major public universities.

New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show which Alabama counties grew the fastest between July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022. Here is the list:

1. Limestone County (3.3%)

Limestone County, home to Athens and Huntsville suburbs in north Alabama, has been Alabama’s fastest-growing county for three of the last four years, including in 2022. The county added more than 3,500 people, a growth rate of 3.3% in just a year.

2. Baldwin County (3.0%)

Baldwin County, home to Alabama’s beaches and many of the fastest-growing small cities in the state, jumped by 3%. It added more than 7,000 people from 2021 to 2022 – the highest raw total in the state.

And Baldwin County’s rapid growth is nothing new.

Since the 2010 Census, no county grew faster than Baldwin, as it surged by 34.6%. It also climbed the rankings of the state’s largest counties over that 12-year span, moving from No. 7 on the list in 2010 to No. 4 as of 2022. That’s 63,300 more residents, or about as many people who live in Walker County.

3. Madison County (1.8%) – Tie

Like Baldwin County, Madison County also added about 7,000 people from 2021 to 2022, for a growth rate of 1.8% – a significant clip for a county that’s poised to pass Mobile and become the state’s second largest county some time this year.

RELATED: These two Alabama counties are adding 19 people per day

Home to Huntsville, Madison County has added nearly 65,500 people since the 2010 Census. It’s the only county to add more people than Baldwin over that time.

3. Lee County (1.8%) – Tie

Lee County, home to Auburn University and at the eastern edge of the state, was tied with Madison for No. 3. It also grew by 1.8% year-over-year in 2022, adding a total of more than 3,100 people during that time. It follows a national trend of rapidly growing counties that are home to major universities.

5. Chilton County (1.4%)

Chilton County, at the southern tip of the Birmingham-Hoover Metro Area, rounded out the top five, growing by 1.4%. This is the first time since at least 2010 that Chilton County has ranked inside the top 5 among Alabama’s fastest growing counties.

See below for year-over-year change and the number of people added or lost in all 67 counties.

[Can’t see the list? Click here.]

In terms of total people added between 2021 and 2022, a handful of other counties added a significant chunk of population, including Shelby and St. Clair counties, two suburban counties in the Birmingham-Hoover metro. Shelby added nearly 2,700 people, while St. Clair added over 1,000.

Tuscaloosa County, home to the University of Alabama, added more than 1,100 people, and a few north Alabama counties – Marshall, Cullman and Lauderdale – all added just over 1,000.

[Can’t see the map? Click here.]

Fastest shrinking counties

Not every county in Alabama is growing, as 30 of the state’s 67 counties lost people from 2021 to 2022. That includes Jefferson County, the largest county in Alabama and home to Birmingham, which lost nearly 4,600 people.

But Alabama’s fastest-shrinking counties in 2022 are all in the Black Belt – a historic but impoverished region that’s long been losing people.

Here are the five fastest-shrinking counties in Alabama:

1. Perry County (-3.4%)

Home to just over 8,000 people in the heart of the Black Belt, Perry County is the second smallest county in Alabama, and getting smaller. It lost nearly 300 people, or 3.4% of its population from 2021 to 2022. That means it’s shrinking faster than Limestone County is growing.

Perry is also the fastest shrinking county since 2010, losing nearly 24% of its population in 12 years.

2. Wilcox County (-2.6%)

Just to the south of Perry County, Wilcox is yet another small, fast-shrinking Black Belt county. It lost 2.6% of its population in 2022, and is threatening to fall below 10,000 people soon.

3. Greene County (-2.2%)

Greene County is already the smallest county in the state and continues to lose people. It saw its population drop by 2.2% in 2022, and has seen a decline of 17.4% since 2010. That’s the second fastest drop in the state over that time.

4. Dallas County (-2.1%) – Tie

Home to historic Selma, Dallas County is larger than many other Black Belt counties. It’s home to nearly 37,000 people, but that number has declined dramatically over the last decade.

4. Macon County (-2.1%) – Tie

Macon County, on the eastern side of the Black Belt, rounded out the list of fastest-shrinking counties. No other counties saw their populations decline by more than 2%.

Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Or questions about Alabama that data may be able to answer? Email Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.