The amount of impervious cover from 2001 to 2016 has grown, but the growth rate year to year has decreased. From 2001 to 2006, impervious cover grew by 7%; from 2006 to 2011, impervious cover grew by only 6%, and from 2011 to 2016, impervious cover growth was down to 4%. While population data from 2001 and 2006 is not currently available, data from 2011 and 2016 shows that the growth rate of the population is outpacing the impervious cover growth rate, which means the NCT region is growing more densely or working to protect natural ground cover within new development.
Note: The NCTCOG Region is 12,800 square miles. The most current impervious area count of 2160 square miles (2016) means that roughly 17% of the region is impervious cover.