St. Paul is on the rise.

The Capital City boasted the biggest population growth in the Twin Cities last year, according to new Metropolitan Council estimates tallying residents across the seven-county metro area. That honor normally goes to Minneapolis, the largest city in the region, which added fewer residents than St. Paul last year for the first time in a decade.

Met Council staff cautioned that comparing year-to-year changes in their estimates is an imperfect measure, since they refine the methodology and data each year. But they confirmed St. Paul permitted and completed the most new housing units, a key factor in how they calculate population growth. That’s compared with more than 180 other communities in the region.

The tally was close. St. Paul gained 4,700 new residents — only about 700 more than Minneapolis’ gain over that period.

“It’s a very strong market right now,” said St. Paul Housing Director Patty Lilledahl. “We have low vacancy rates and there’s a lot of capital, in terms of the investors that are willing to invest.”

She added: “There’s lots of interest to move back to the city. And demand will help dry supply.”