The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton region ranked as the country's 10th fastest-growing metropolitan area between mid-2015 and mid-2016, according to data released Thursday by the United States Census Bureau. The region's population increased by 2.7 percent, from 768,013 to 788,457, during that time period. Three other Florida regions—The Villages, Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Punta Gorda—ranked in the top 10.