Fort Worth was the 10th-fastest-growing city in the country in 2008 and three other Texas towns were in the top 10, according to U.S. Census population estimates released Tuesday.

New Orleans topped the list as thousands of residents came back home after being forced out by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The Crescent City’s population bounced back to 311,853 as 23,740 residents returned between 2007 and 2008. But that’s still significantly below the pre-storm level of 484,674 based on the 2000 Census.

Texas was well-represented among the fast gainers. Round Rock, north of Austin, was No. 2 on the list with a gain of 7,877 residents. McKinney was No. 5 and Killeen was No. 9 on the growth chart of cities with populations over 100,000.

But Fort Worth, which added 24,413 residents over the 12-month period and grew to 703,073, stands out in the crowd, census demographer Greg Harper said.

"If you look at the 10 fastest-growing cities . . . Fort Worth is No. 10, but it is by far the largest city among the 10," Harper said. "It is growing at 3.6 percent over that time, and it is a little unusual to see a city of that size among the fastest-growing. If you look at the top 25, it is still the largest city among those cities in terms of percent change from 2007 to 2008."

Dallas added 13,538 people for a population of 1,279,910.

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