By Cecilia Chan

Independent Newsmedia

With more than 200 people a day moving in, Maricopa County saw the largest uptick in population than any other county in the country last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This was the second year in a row Maricopa County has earned that distinction. Adding 74,000 more residents for a total of 4.3 million inhabitants, made it the fourth most populous county in the nation based on July 1, 2017 estimates released Thursday.

“The fact is, Maricopa County is a more desirable place to live and work than it has ever been,” said Steve Chucri, the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in a released statement. “We are now home to 4.3 million people (with) strong tech, health, aerospace, business, and agricultural sectors, low unemployment, world-class universities and phenomenal options for leisure and recreation. It’s no wonder people want to start careers, raise families, and retire here.”

The U.S. Census’ statistics provide population estimates and components of change for the nation’s 382 metropolitan statistical areas, 551 micropolitan statistical areas and 3,142 counties.

Among the nation’s counties, the top 10 with the largest numeric growth are all located in the south and the west. The 10 largest counties in the country all maintained their rank compared with last year. Most of the nation’s 3,142 counties grew, with 57 percent gaining in the last year.

County findings include:

• Between 2016 and 2017, 1,790 counties (57 percent) gained population and 1,342 counties (42.7 percent) lost population. This compared with 2015-2016, when 1,655 counties (52.7 percent) gained population and 1,480 counties (47.1 percent) lost population.

•The primary driver behind the growth of the 10 fastest-growing counties, 2016-17, was net domestic migration.

•Between 2016 and 2017, 1,907 counties (60.7 percent) saw more births than deaths. This compares with 2015-16, when 1,942 counties (61.8 percent) experienced a natural increase.

•Between 2016 and 2017, 1,200 counties (38.2 percent) saw more people died in the county than were born. This compares with 2015-16 when 1,164 counties (37.0 percent) experienced natural decrease.•Between 2016 and 2017, the number of counties that saw more people move in than out was 1,661 (52.9 percent), and 1,470 (46.8 percent) counties saw more people move out of the county than moved in

•Between 2015 and 2016, 1,469 counties (46.8 percent) showed positive net migration, and 1,660 counties (52.8 percent) showed negative net migration.

In the coming months, the Census Bureau is expected to release 2017 population estimates for cities and towns, as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.