North Carolina was the sixth fastest-growing state in the U.S. in terms of numeric growth from 2015 to 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau reported recently. The Tar Heel State added 111,602 people over the year, giving the state a total population of more than 10.1 million. Check out the adjacent slideshow to see the other states in the top 10 state for numeric growth.
Utah’s population crossed the 3 million mark as it became the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year in terms of percent change. Its population increased 2% to 3.1 million from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, according to U.S. Census Bureau national and state population estimates released Dec. 20.
“States in the South and West continued to lead in population growth,” said Ben Bolender, chief of the Population Estimates Branch, in a statement. “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%), Idaho (1.8%), Florida (1.8%) and Washington (1.8%) 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 10 in growth due to a net outflow of migrants to other parts of the country, the Census Bureau said.
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), the Census Bureau said. Nationally, the U.S. population grew by 0.7% to 323.1 million.
Between 2010 and 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the United States will gain nearly 26 million new residents, an increase of about 8.3%. South Carolina is projected to grow at a similar rate (8.5%); it is projected to gain nearly 400,000 new residents and surpass 5 million by 2020. North Carolina is projected to grow faster, increasing by nearly 11% and gaining more than 1 million new residents to reach a population of nearly 10.6 million.
This growth is projected to be highly uneven across North Carolina. Virtually all (99%) of the state’s growth is projected to occur in counties that belong to either metropolitan or micropolitan areas. Examining Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs)* suggests that two-thirds of North Carolina’s population growth will occur in either the broader Charlotte region (33% of state growth) or the Triangle region (34%).
In Charlotte, this is fueled by projected growth rates of more than 20% in Mecklenburg, Union, and Cabarrus counties. In the Triangle, Wake, Harnett, and Durham counties are all projected to grow by more than 20%, as well. At the same time, 30 of North Carolina’s 100 counties are projected to lose population by 2020, a significant increase from the 7 counties that lost population between 2000 and 2010.
David Allison
CBJ
