The Nation’s Fastest-Growing States

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Utah is officially the fastest-growing state in the nation. The population there surpassed 3 million last year, an increase of 2 percent from July 2015 to July 2016, new Census data shows.

“States in the South and West continued to lead in population growth,” says Ben Bolender, chief of the agency’s population estimates branch. In 2016, about 38 percent of the nation’s population lived in the South and nearly 24 percent lived in the West.

The Census’ report shows the following states saw the largest percentage increases in population from 2015 to 2016:

  1. Utah: 2% growth
  2. Nevada: 2%
  3. Idaho: 1.8%
  4. Florida: 1.8%
  5. Washington: 1.8%

North Dakota had been the fastest-growing state for the last four years, partially due to the booming oil market there, but has since fallen out of the top 10 completely as energy prices decreased.

Illinois saw its population decrease the most compared to any other state, falling by 37,508 in the past year. Pennsylvania, New York, and Wyoming also saw its populations decrease.

Overall, the U.S. population increased by 0.7 percent to 323.1 million.

Source: “Census: Utah Leads All States in Growth in 2016,” BUILDER (Dec. 20, 2016)

