Five Noteworthy State Population Trends

Between July 1, 2010, and July 1, 2011, the U.S. population grew by just 0.7 percent, the slowest rate of growth since the 1940s despite the fact that every state gained immigrants from abroad. Here are five noteworthy trends in state populations during the past year...

• Texas grew the most during the year (up by 421,215), followed by California (353,714), Florida (218,929), Georgia (103,053), and North Carolina (96,167). Those five states accounted for 53 percent of the nation's population growth.
• Michigan and Rhode Island were the only states that lost population between 2010 and 2011. Behind the loss was the migration of their residents to other states. Michigan saw 40,331 people move away, and Rhode Island lost 5,089.
• West Virginia was the only state in which deaths surpassed births. Nevertheless, the state's population grew because of a net gain of 715 immigrants from abroad and 1,333 migrants from other states. 
• Nevada--once the fastest growing state--continues to grow, but slowly. More than 90 percent of the state's population gain between 2010 and 2011 was due to the excess of births over deaths, with the remainder due to a net gain of international migrants. The state's own residents are fleeing, with a net of 8,008 leaving the state during the past 12 months.
• The rapid growth of the District of Columbia (it was the fastest growing "state" between 2010 and 2011) was fueled mostly by domestic migration. DC's gain of 6,907 residents from other states places it 13th among states in the number of U.S. residents it attracted.

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates