AllianceTexas — a 17,000-acre master-planned community developed by Hillwood Properties in North Fort Worth – has been ranked as one of the nation's fastest growing communities having more than doubled in the past decade.

The ranking is backed up by a study conducted by Southlake-based Research & Demographic Solutions, which was released Wednesday. The study was commissioned by Fort Worth-based Hillwood.

The AllianceTexas area added 111,000 persons from 2000 to 2010, which gives it the community the second-largest absolute population gain for cities over 50,000 in the Metroplex.

Based on a previous report by the U.S. Census Bureau, research officials say it appears more than half the population growth of Fort Worth — which added more than 200,000 new residents in the past decade — is taking place in AllianceTexas.

There are many reasons behind the population growth at AllianceTexas, including a robust job center, affordable and quality housing and a community with a quality lifestyle, said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties.

AllianceTexas is 40 percent developed. One of the keys to AllianceTexas' ongoing success will be creating the transportation infrastructure needed for the development, Berry said.

The full report measures education, income, the makeup of households and other demographics in the AllianceTexas community.