Utah's Dixie, known for its warm desert climate and red rock scenery, continues to grow faster than any other county in Utah — and nearly every county in the nation.

With a one-year growth rate of nearly 8 percent, Washington County is the nation's fifth fastest-growing county, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.

And, according to state projections, the county, anchored by St. George, is well on its way to becoming a major metropolitan area.

The estimates showed nearly all of America's fastest-growing counties were located in the South or West and were generally suburban or rural.

The estimates are for July 1, 2005, before Hurricane Katrina caused mass evacuations from many Southern coastal counties.

Florida's Flagler County was the nation's fastest-growing for the second year in a row. The coastal county between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville grew by 10.7 percent in one year.

Other counties in the top five were Lyon County, Nev., near Carson City; Kendall County, Ill., near Chicago; and Rockwell County near Dallas.

Utah as a whole grew at double the national rate of 1 percent. Other Utah counties that made the list of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties were Iron County, located just north of Washington, and Wasatch County, which neighbors the Wasatch Front.

Iron County ranked 37th nationally, growing by an estimated 5.2 percent over one year to a 2005 population of 38,311. Wasatch County ranked 54th, with a growth rate of roughly 4.6 percent to 18,974 people.

Washington County is increasingly tied to the Las Vegas economy, and some of that growth appears to be spilling over into Iron County, said Robert Spendlove, manager of demographic and economic analysis for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget..

"A lot of the growth we're seeing in the southwestern portion of the state is essentially overflow from Southern California and southern Nevada," he said.

With a 2005 population estimated at 118,885, Washington County is also the state's fifth largest county.

Washington County also ranked 77 nationally in its numerical growth. It gained an estimated 8,460 people between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, according to the census estimates; and, since 2000, it has grown by more than 30 percent.

State estimates show an even faster-paced growth than the census. State population estimates show the county at approximately 127,000 — 40 percent higher than in 2000, Spendlove said.

Washington County's population is projected to top 600,000 by 2050, he said.