Although it was not among the 100 fastest growing between 2000 and 2010, Hinesville-Fort Stewart recently was named one of the 50 fastest-growing communities between 2010 and 2011, according to a release from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hinesville-Fort Stewart grew by a 3.4 percent in 2010-11, making it the third fastest-growing metro area in the country, according to statistics posted on www.census.gov.

Last year, Hinesville-Fort Stewart was ranked No. 5 on a top-10 list of metro areas projected to become boom towns in the year 2020, according to a report published by real estate publication Inman News.

Hinesville-Fort Stewart’s 2010 population of 78,595 will jump to 102,769 in the next 10 years, a 30.8 percent increase, according to ProximityOne as reported by Inman.

“Receiving such a high ranking nationally and that fact being widely distributed to the real estate development community is very beneficial to Hinesville/Liberty County,” Liberty County Development Authority Executive Director Ron Tolley said when the data was released.