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Utah is Nation’s Fastest-Growing State, Census Bureau Reports

Utah is Nation’s Fastest-Growing State, Census Bureau Reports



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WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Utah’s population crossed the 3.0 million mark as it became the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year. Its population increased 2.0 percent to 3.1 million from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, according to U.S. Census Bureau national and state population estimates released today. 

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“States in the South and West continued to lead in population growth,” said Ben Bolender, Chief of the Population Estimates Branch. “In 2016, 37.9 percent of the nation’s population lived in the South and 23.7 percent lived in the West.”

Following Utah, Nevada (2.0 percent), Idaho (1.8 percent), Florida (1.8 percent) and Washington (1.8 percent) saw the largest percentage increases in population.

North Dakota, which had been the fastest-growing state for the previous four years, mostly from people moving into the state, fell out of the top ten in growth due to a net outflow of migrants to other parts of the country. Its growth slowed from 2.3 percent in the previous year to 0.1 percent.

Nationally, the U.S. population grew by 0.7 percent to 323.1 million. Furthermore, the population of voting-age residents, adults age 18 and over, grew to 249.5 million, making up 77.2 percent of the population in 2016, an increase of 0.9 percent from 2015 (247.3 million).

Eight states lost population between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2016, including Pennsylvania, New York and Wyoming, all three of which had grown the previous year. Illinois lost more people than any other state (-37,508).

Two states that had been losing population in the previous year, Maine and New Mexico, saw increases in population of 0.15 and 0.03 percent respectively.   

In addition to the population data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the new estimates show that Puerto Rico had an estimated population of 3.4 million, a decline from 3.5 million in 2015. Estimates of the components of population change (births, deaths, and migration) were also released today.

Top 10 Most Populous States: 2016

Rank

Name

2010

2015

2016

1

California

37,254,522

38,993,940

39,250,017

2

Texas

25,146,100

27,429,639

27,862,596

3

Florida

18,804,592

20,244,914

20,612,439

4

New York

19,378,110

19,747,183

19,745,289

5

Illinois

12,831,574

12,839,047

12,801,539

6

Pennsylvania

12,702,857

12,791,904

12,784,227

7

Ohio

11,536,727

11,605,090

11,614,373

8

Georgia

9,688,680

10,199,398

10,310,371

9

North Carolina

9,535,688

10,035,186

10,146,788

10

Michigan

9,884,129

9,917,715

9,928,300

 

Top 10 States in Numeric Growth: 2015 to 2016

Rank

Name

2010

2015

2016

Numeric change

1

Texas

25,146,100

27,429,639

27,862,596

432,957

2

Florida

18,804,592

20,244,914

20,612,439

367,525

3

California

37,254,522

38,993,940

39,250,017

256,077

4

Washington

6,724,545

7,160,290

7,288,000

127,710

5

Arizona

6,392,301

6,817,565

6,931,071

113,506

6

North Carolina

9,535,688

10,035,186

10,146,788

111,602

7

Georgia

9,688,680

10,199,398

10,310,371

110,973

8

Colorado

5,029,324

5,448,819

5,540,545

91,726

9

Oregon

3,831,072

4,024,634

4,093,465

68,831

10

South Carolina

4,625,410

4,894,834

4,961,119

66,285

 

Top 10 States in Percentage Growth: 2015 to 2016

Rank

Name

2010

2015

2016

Percent change

1

Utah

2,763,888

2,990,632

3,051,217

2.03

2

Nevada

2,700,691

2,883,758

2,940,058

1.95

3

Idaho

1,567,650

1,652,828

1,683,140

1.83

4

Florida

18,804,592

20,244,914

20,612,439

1.82

5

Washington

6,724,545

7,160,290

7,288,000

1.78

6

Oregon

3,831,072

4,024,634

4,093,465

1.71

7

Colorado

5,029,324

5,448,819

5,540,545

1.68

8

Arizona

6,392,301

6,817,565

6,931,071

1.66

9

District of Columbia

601,766

670,377

681,170

1.61

10

Texas

25,146,100

27,429,639

27,862,596

1.58

 

During 2017, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the 2016 population of counties, cities and towns, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin. Population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipios by age and sex will be released as well.

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State Contacts

Jewel Jordan

Public Information Office       

census.gov

301-763-3030 / pio@census.gov             

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Utah is Nation’s Fastest-Growing State, Census Bureau Reports