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Charlotte ranks No. 5 in fastest growing cities in U.S., Raleigh No. 1

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forbes recently ranked the fastest growing cities in the United States, and the two biggest cities in North Carolina rank high on the list.

The rankings are comprised from the Census population from 2000 to 2012 for the 52 metropolitan areas that exceed 1 million residents.

Charlotte's east-coast neighbor, Raleigh, ranks as the No. 1 fastest growing city in the country.

Raleigh has grown 47.8 percent since 2000, while Charlotte has grown 32.8 percent since 2000, according to Forbes.

Raleigh's growth is more than three times the overall 12.7 percent growth of all 52 metro areas.

Raleigh was ranked third in 2011, but has grown 2.2 percent since then and has a population of 1.2 million in 2012.

Charlotte moved up from No. 9 in 2011, growing at a 1.7 percent clip with a population of 2.3 million in 2012.

Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas also expanded more than 40%, putting them second and third on the list.

Here is how the Top 10 appears:

1.    Raleigh, N.C.  (2012 population: 1.2 million)
2.    Austin, TX  (2012 population: 1.8 million)
3.    Las Vegas, NV  (2012 population: 2 million)
4.    Orlando, FL  (2012 population: 2.2 million)
5.    Charlotte, NC  (2012 population: 2.3 million)
6.    Riverside-San Bernardino, CA  (2012 population: 4.4 million)
7.    Phoenix, AZ  (2012 population: 4.3 million)
8.    Houston, TX  (2012 population: 6.1 million)
9.    San Antonio, TX  (2012 population: 2.2 million)
10.    Dallas-Fort Worth, TX  (2012 population: 6.7 million)

For the full rankings and the top slowest growing cities in the U.S., click here.