https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ok/1019429001/
The fastest growing states
8. Arizona
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.66%
•Current population: 6.93 million
•2015 population: 6.82 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 14.96%
Arizona’s population grew by 1.7% in 2016, more than twice the 0.7% national population growth rate. Much of Arizona’s growth was due to new residents migrating to the state. A net total of 61,544 Americans relocated to Arizona that year, the fourth most of any state. Many of those moving to Arizona likely came for employment opportunities. From 2015 to 2016, Arizona’s unemployment rate fell from 6.0% to 5.3% — one of the largest percentage-point drops of any state over the period.
7. Colorado
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.68%
•Current population: 5.54 million
•2015 population: 5.45 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 17.37%
Colorado’s population grew by 1.7% in 2016, among the fastest pace of any state. Like many of the fastest growing states, domestic migration contributed the most to Colorado’s rapid population growth. A net influx of 50,216 Americans relocated to Colorado in 2016, more than all but five other states. Colorado has sustained rapid population growth throughout the past decade. Since 2006, the state’s population has increased by 17.4%, the fastest pace of any state other than Texas and Utah. The population growth occurred alongside a steep decline in unemployment. Just 3.3% of the Colorado labor force is unemployed, tied with Vermont as the sixth lowest unemployment rate of any state.
6. Oregon
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.71
•Current population: 4.09 million
•2015 population: 4.02 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 11.51%
Since 2006, Oregon’s population has grown at an average rate of 1.1%. The state’s population growth rate spiked in 2016, when the number of residents in the state grew 1.7% — faster than nearly any other state. Approximately 3 in every 4 new Oregonians in 2016 moved to the state from elsewhere in the country, with the remaining population increase due to natural growth — the number of births less the number of deaths. Many new residents likely came to Oregon for economic opportunity. The state’s unemployment rate fell from 5.6% in 2015 to 4.9% in 2016, one of the largest percentage-point declines of any state.
5. Washington
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.78%
•Current population: 7.29 million
•2015 population: 7.16 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 14.40%
Washington state’s population grew by 1.8% in 2016, more than twice the 0.7% national population growth rate. Washington has sustained relatively fast population growth over the past decade. The state’s population increased by 14.4% from 2006 to 2016, the eighth fastest pace of any state. The state’s strong population growth over the past decade was accompanied by a substantial increase in GDP. From the second quarter of 2006 to the second quarter of 2016, Washington’s GDP grew at an average rate of 2.2% a year — the fourth fastest pace of any state. Washington’s information sector — which includes industry giants Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia — grew faster than in any other state other than Pennsylvania over that period.
4. Florida
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.82%
•Current population: 20.61 million
•2015 population: 20.24 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 13.46%
In 2014, Florida overtook New York as the third most populous state in the country. Florida has continued to grow at a near nation-leading pace. The state’s population grew by 1.8% in 2016, far more than the 0.7% national population growth rate. Like many of the fastest-growing states, Florida’s rapid population growth was largely due to migration. About 9 in every 10 new Floridians either moved to the state from elsewhere in the United States or from another country — one of the largest such shares nationwide — while the rest of the state’s population increase was due to natural growth.
3. Idaho
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.83%
•Current population: 1.68 million
•2015 population: 1.65 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 14.60%
The population of Idaho increased by 1.8% in 2016, the third fastest pace of any state. Idaho has a relatively high birth rate, and natural growth — births minus deaths — accounted for about one-third of all new Idahoans in 2016. The remaining population growth was due to the large influx of residents from other parts of the country. A net total of 17,143 Americans relocated to Idaho in 2016, far more than in most states. The state’s population growth coincided with a substantial decline in unemployment. Idaho’s unemployment rate fell from 4.2% in 2015 to just 3.8% in 2016, today one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
2. Nevada
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 1.95%
•Current population: 2.94 million
•2015 population: 2.88 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 16.55%
The population of Nevada increased by 2.0% in 2016, the second fastest pace of any state. Nevada has sustained strong population growth over the past decade, growing by 16.5% from 2006 to 2016 — nearly twice the 8.3% national growth rate. Despite strong population growth, Nevada’s overall economic output declined over that time. The state’s arts, entertainment, and recreation and accommodation and food sectors — which comprise a larger share of Nevada’s GDP than in any other state — shrunk 13.0% from the second quarter of 2006 to the second quarter of 2016, more than in any other state nationwide. Nevada’s GDP contracted by 9.0% overall during that time, the largest decline in the country. Industries that benefit from population growth, however, such as educational services and health care, grew at a faster pace than in a majority of states.
1. Utah
•1-yr pop. growth rate: 2.03%
•Current population: 3.05 million
•2015 population: 2.99 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 20.82%
The population of Utah grew by 2.0% in 2016, nearly three times the 0.7% national population growth rate and the fastest pace of any state. Unlike most fast-growing states, the majority of Utah’s population increase was due to natural growth. Utah has the largest average family size in the country, and there were 1,854 births per 100,000 people in Utah in 2016 — far more than the national rate of 1,286 births per 100,000 Americans. Utah also has the lowest death rate in the country. While Utah’s high birth-to-death ratio accounted for most of the state’s population growth, Utah’s population also grew more from inbound migration than many other states. The state’s population increased by 0.8% due to net migration in 2016, more than double the 0.3% national figure and the ninth highest rate of any state.
The fastest shrinking states
4. Connecticut
•1-yr pop. growth rate: -0.23%
•Current population: 3.58 million
•2015 population: 3.58 million
•10-yr pop. growth rate: 1.68%
The population of Connecticut shrank by 0.2% in 2016, the fourth largest decline of any state. Connecticut’s population has declined substantially in recent years, and the state has lost a net total of approximately 20,000 residents since 2013. Many of those leaving Connecticut are young, college-educated professionals. Since 2010, the median age in Connecticut has risen from 40.0 years to 40.9 years.
The population loss has likely hurt the state’s economic potential. While the U.S. GDP grew by 12.1% from the second quarter of 2006 to the second quarter of 2016, Connecticut’s GDP fell by 3.7%, the largest contraction of any state over that time other than Nevada.