3 Virginia Exurbs Near Top of U.S. in Growth

"More recently, the housing markets have cooled off a bit, and we may see the movement of folks further and further out into the countryside . . . subside somewhat," he said. "But I still expect to see very rapid growth rates in the counties just beyond the suburbs simply because there is land available and prices are much more affordable."

That is a familiar story in Loudoun County, whose growth rate since 2000 was the second fastest among the nation's counties, down from first in 2004. Florida's Flagler County ranks first.

In the final months of last year, developers submitted proposals to build more than 20,000 houses in the county's booming southeastern corner near Dulles International Airport. Supervisors are weighing another round of spending increases this spring to pay for the schools, police officers, libraries and roads that the county's new residents demand.

County supervisors tried several years ago to constrain growth in Loudoun's rural west, where open pastures, horse paddocks and 19th-century manor homes contrast sharply with the densely packed subdivisions to the east. But those regulations were tossed out on a technicality last year by the Virginia Supreme Court. This year, supervisors are considering new constraints that are nearly as restrictive.

"If you look at the five-year projections, our long-term view is that people are going to continue to want to live here," said Loudoun County Administrator Kirby M. Bowers. "And that means more teachers, more firefighters, more parks, more schools."

The growth frontier also is moving out in Maryland, where the economy is not as vibrant as Virginia's and population increases have been less rapid.

Washington County's growth rate last year surpassed that of adjacent Frederick County, which has been drawing people out of Montgomery County for years. "Washington County is like Frederick County 20 years ago," said Mark Goldstein, an economist with the state Planning Department.

That means opportunity for people like Cynthia Moler, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Hagerstown, who likes dealing with residents from Montgomery County because they think her properties are reasonably priced. "The Hagerstown people don't pay the money," she said. "If I can get people away from here to come here, they pay the money."

The population growth rate slowed dramatically last year in Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the region's largest jurisdictions. Unlike outer counties, which are gaining population because of people moving in from other U.S. communities, closer-in areas are gaining because of new immigrants and births.

Meanwhile, the District continues to lose population, according to previously released numbers.

Research database editor Derek Willis contributed to this report.