The nation’s urban population grew by 12.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, outpacing the nation’s overall growth rate of 9.7 percent for the same period, according to census figures.

Of the 10 most densely populated urbanized areas nationwide, nine are in the West, with seven of those in California.

The nation’s most densely populated urbanized area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, with nearly 7,000 people per square mile. The San Francisco-Oakland area is the second most densely populated at 6,266 people per square mile, followed by San Jose (5,820 people per square mile), and in the Central Valley — Delano, with 5,483 people per square mile, ranks fourth, according to census figures.