Northeast Texas continues to grow.

Population estimates released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Wood County and all its surrounding neighbors have grown every year since the last census was released in 2020.

Wood County showed a growth rate of 10.8% in the five-year period, jumping from 44,852 residents for the last census in April 2020 to an estimated 49,688 in July 2025, a gain of 4,836.

The county showed growth every year, ranging from 190 new residents from April 2020-July 2020 to 1,255 from July 2020-July 2021. The most recent year, from 2024 to 2025, showed a slower growth trend of 535 new residents, after averaging just over 1,000 per year from 2020 to 2024.

All neighboring counties also showed growth every year since the last census.

Smith County grew from 233,470 in 2020 to 252,549 in 2025, while Van Zandt grew from 59,536 to 66,130; Upshur from 40,889 to 44,410; Rains from 12,157 to 13,542; and Hopkins from 36,797 to 39,063.

The state grew from 29,149,458 for the 2020 census to 31,709,821 in 2025. Among the fastest growing counties in the country was nearby Kaufman, which ballooned from 147,165 in 2020 to 209,235 for the recent estimate – more than 12,000 per year.