The state of Texas is growing fast. The state has eight of the nation’s 15 fastest-growing cities and six of the top seven, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which evaluated population increases in 2011 for cities with more than 100,000 residents. 

However, beating out Texas cities for the top spot, New Orleans came in at No. 1 on the list of fastest-growing cities. New Orleans has seen its population grow by nearly 5 percent from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011. 

The following are the 15 fastest-growing cities in that time period and the percentage population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau analysis:

1. New Orleans
2. Round Rock, Texas: 4.8% growth
3. Austin: 3.8%
4. Plano: 3.8%
5. McKinney: 3.8%
6. Frisco: 3.8%
7. Denton, Texas: 3.4%
8. Denver: 3.3%
9. Cary, N.C.: 3.2%
10. Raleigh, N.C.: 3.1%
11. Alexandria, Va.: 3.1%
12. Tampa, Fla.: 3.1%
13. McAllen, Texas: 3%
14. Carrollton, Texas: 3%
15. Atlanta: 3%

“These estimates provide our first look at how much the total population has changed in each of our nation’s cities since we conducted the 2010 Census,” says Robert Groves, Census Bureau director. “These numbers provide further evidence of a continuation of the trend of rapid population growth in Texas we observed between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.”

Meanwhile, the cities with the largest overall populations in the U.S.? New York continued to be the most populous with 8.2 million residents in 2011, followed by Los Angeles (3.8 million), Chicago (2.7 million), and Houston (2.1 million), the U.S. Census Bureau reports.