FOLEY — Population in the City of Foley grew by almost 3,000 between 2020 and 2022, an increase that tops any other city in the Mobile Bay area and most other communities in the state, according to a report by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.

In 2022, Foley had 23,577 residents to rank 27th on the list of most populous cities in Alabama. Fairhope, with 282 more residents, ranked 26th.

Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said city officials are working to manage the effects of growth and to keep Foley a place in which people want to move to and live.

“All of us, myself and the council, are perfectly aware of our growth,” Hellmich said. “This just puts the numbers behind what we already knew. People realize that this is a very desirable place to live and they are coming here. We’re working day to day to keep it a desirable place to live. We’re working to mitigate the growth by investing in infrastructure and our quality of life.”

Between 2020 and 2022, Foley’s population increased by 2,979, a growth rate of 14.47%, according to the PARCA report, which was based on recent U.S. Census data. The population grew by 1,525 between 2021 and 2022.

By comparison, Huntsville, Alabama’s largest city with 221,933 people, is more than nine times the size of Foley. Huntsville had a population increase of 5,559 between 2020 and 2022, about 86.6% more than Foley’s increase.

Foley’s numerical increase was the largest in Baldwin County.

Two municipalities with smaller populations had higher percentage increases, according to the PARCA report. Silverhill led the state with an increase of 72.2% between 2020 and 2022, growing by 574 from 795 to 1,369 and Loxley grew by 764 residents from 3,840 to 4,604 between 2020 and 2022, a rate of 21%.

The next highest increase in both numbers and percentage was in Daphne, which added 1,989 residents over the two-year period. The city’s population grew by 8%, from 24,981 to 26,970.

Gulf Shores’ population grew by 6.69%, an increase of 1,015 from 15,178 to 16,193. Robertsdale had a 6.66% increase in population, from 6,745 to 7,189.

Fairhope’s population increased by 5.14% from 22,692 to 23,859.

Spanish Fort grew by 4.7% from 10,177 to 10,656. Summerdale’s population increased 4.1% from 1,497 to 1,557.

Elberta’s population increased by 3.32% from 1,984 to 2,050.

Perdido Beach grew by 2.7% from 552 to 567. Magnolia Springs grew by 2% from 808 to 828.

Bay Minette’s population increased by 155 from 8,122 to 8,277, a rate of 1.9%.