Population Growth in Metropolitan America Since 1980: Putting the Volatile 2000s in Perspective

As U.S. job and housing markets stabilize and expand once again, population will likely return to interior Sun Belt metropolitan areas and suburban communities generally. However, the places that succeed in this new regime will probably not mirror the winners at either the middle or the end of the turbulent 2000s. Instead, metro areas with diversified, knowledge-based economies are likely to attract and retain population over the long run.
http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2012/03/20-population-frey