South Corridor Communities Among Fastest Growing

N. Liberty Grew 127.5% Since 2000

Josh O'Leary Iowa City Press-Citizen

North Liberty's population more than doubled over the past decade, making it the second-fastest growing city in the state during the 2000s, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Meanwhile, Johnson County was one of only four Iowa counties to grow by more than 10 percent from 2000 to 2009. Several of the county's smaller towns also have seen big gains, including Hills, the city with the third largest percentage increase in the state in 2009.

In the 2009 estimates released Tuesday, North Liberty's population ballooned by 127.5 percent since 2000, beginning the decade with 5,367 residents and ending it with 12,210. Only Waukee saw a bigger gain among cities incorporated before 2001.

The latest numbers do not reflect the data currently being gathered in the 2010 census. Instead, they are the final estimates based on the 2000 survey.

With North Liberty situated in the heart of the corridor connecting Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, its location, of course, has played a key role in the city's growth. City Administrator Ryan Heiar said there's other factors in play, however.

"I think people have choices to live elsewhere, and as folks have come in, we have maintained and increased a quality of life that I think folks like," Heiar said. "We offer a tremendous amount of services in both the public and private sector, and folks appreciate that."

Heiar said the steady stream of new residents has made it a challenge for North Liberty's infrastructure to keep pace. The city has made significant capital improvements in recent years to address that, including investments in the water and wastewater systems, and it has allocated $6 million this year alone to improve its roadways.

North Liberty's influx of residents doesn't show any signs of waning, either. From 2008 to 2009, North Liberty grew by 5.6 percent, making it the seventh-fastest growing city in the state for the year.

Percentage-wise, though, that doesn't compare to the relative boom Hills saw last year. The town jumped from a population of 692 in 2008 to 772 in 2009 -- an 11.6 percent boost.

Hills City Clerk Bonnie Hansen said those numbers reflect a new development where four new 12-plexes, a five-plex, three new zero-lot duplexes and two single-family homes have sprung up in the past year and a half.

Hansen said the area, which is on the west side of town just off Highway 218, could see even more growth in the coming years, with initial plans calling for a total of 48 single-family lots, 22 zero lots, five multi-family structures and six commercial lots.

"Like my kids always say, it's small-town living with the benefits of a city," Hansen said about Hills' proximity to Iowa City, which stands just five miles to the north. "Everybody pretty much knows each other around here."

Shueyville at the northern end of the county also has doubled its population since 2000.With 546 residents, it has made a 118.4 percent gain in that time -- fourth-best in Iowa.

Solon, with an estimated 1,757 residents, was the sixth-fastest growing city in 2009 with a 5.8 percent boost, and Tiffin was ninth with 1,904 residents, or 5.2 percent growth.

Iowa City, at 68,903 residents, grew by 1.9 percent in 2009 and 10.7 percent over the decade. Coralville, at 18,797, grew 0.9 percent last year and 24.3 percent since 2000.

Johnson County grew by 18 percent this past decade at a time when 77 of Iowa's 99 counties lost residents.