Energy boom fuels population growth, census figures show

Major cities west of the Mississippi River are growing quickly due to oil and natural gas production, The Associated Press reported.

The Census Bureau released 2013 population information and found that most large-city growth is in Western areas with oil and gas operations, the AP said.

Census spokeswoman Sara Higgins told the AP that the oil and gas industries are attracting new workers to those cities.

The census data showed that energy production was one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, fueled largely by new technologies that unlock more oil and gas than before.

As populations grow in the Western metropolitan areas, infrastructure and housing present new problems because they must grow rapidly as well, the AP reported.