MINNEAPOLIS -- New population estimates from the Metropolitan Council show the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are growing at a faster pace than the suburbs.

The Twin Cities grew by 6.8 percent in the past five years. St. Paul claimed more than 300,000 residents in 2015, and Minneapolis had more than 412,000 residents.

But the suburbs are growing too - at a collective rate of 5.1 percent.

Met Council's manager of regional policy and research Libby Starling says the balanced growth shows people have choices about where to live.

Still, the growth of Minneapolis and St. Paul is a shift from a decade ago, when each city lost a few residents because household sizes were smaller.

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