New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show Arizonans continued their march to the suburbs and beyond in the year ending July 1, 2007.

But gasoline was selling then for less than $3 a gallon. And that leaves the question of whether fuel at $4.10  or maybe even $5 by the end of the year will slow the double, triple and even quadruple-digit growth of mushrooming bedroom communities.

The statistics released today show Gilbert grew faster between the beginning of the decade and July 1, 2007, than all but two other cities of more than 100,000 in the nation. The community’s 82.3 percent growth rate was topped only by McKinney, Texas, and North Las Vegas, Nev.

But Gilbert, which used to be on the edge of civilization, now finds that people are commuting through there from even further distances. In fact, Gilbert is only the 10th fastest growing city in Arizona when cities of all sizes are compared.

Topping the state list is what had been tiny Maricopa, south of Phoenix, which wasn’t even incorporated when Census Bureau workers came knocking on doors for the formal decennial count. The agency figures there were only about 1,535 people living in the community on April 1, 2000.

That was before newspapers began advertising new homes for Valley residents there — assuming you’re willing to drive through the Gila River Indian Community to get there. Seven years later it was home to close to 39,000 residents, an increase of nearly 2,400 percent.

The growth is occurring in all directions from where residents work.

Queen Creek on the southeast edge of the Valley has ballooned from 4,400 people at the beginning of the decade to more than 23,000. To the northwest, El Mirage’s 19,400 residents mark a nearly 250 percent increase since 2000. And Buckeye to the west came in not far behind with a 223 percent population growth.

Triple-digit growth also was recorded in Surprise, Goodyear and Avondale.

That compares to a 17.4 percent population increase during the same time in Phoenix, with 39.1 percent in Chandler, 16.3 percent in Scottsdale and 13.8 percent in Mesa. Landlocked Tempe managed only a 9.8 percent increase in its population.

Overall state population is up 23 percent.

Those who have made the move to the outer suburbs are dealing with it as best as they can.

Dorian Bond moved to Queen Creek from Chandler in September 2006. Bond, who works as a private detective, said he cuts down his commute to the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix by working from home when he can.

And when Bond has to drive he uses his Chevy Cobalt, leaving his Chevy Trailblazer in the driveway.

“It takes me $15 to get to downtown Phoenix in the Cobalt and $30 in the Trailblazer,” he said.

“I look at every single trip in terms of how much it will cost me.”

Despite now being farther from his job, Bond said he sees the Queen Creek community as an exciting place to live and doesn’t regret the move despite soaring gas prices.

“I like being part of something growing and new,” he said.

In fact, Bond said, he can walk to the neighborhood park with his daughter for entertainment, and to a grocery store that opened recently near his neighborhood Pecan Creek to save on gas.

That pattern of settling further from the main city and job center does not exist only around Phoenix.

Sahuarita, south of Tucson, had virtually no population growth from the 2000 census into mid 2003, when fewer than 3,900 people called it home.  

Since then there has been a population explosion, with the Census Bureau now pegging its population in excess of 16,000.

Marana, north of Tucson, more than doubled its population in the same period, from fewer than 14,000 to approaching 32,000.

And Casa Grande, halfway between the two major metropolitan areas has grown by more than 45 percent since 2000.

Even in some rural counties the population growth has been less in the main communities.

For example, Prescott Valley has grown more than 56 percent since 2000, more than double the 24 percent growth rate for Prescott.

The 13 percent growth rate for Flagstaff was beaten by more than two points by Williams.

And San Luis increased its population nearly 55 percent since the decennial census, compared with less than 14 percent for Yuma.

Overall state population growth during the same period was 23.5 percent.