According to new census estimates, more people moved into Texas over the past year than any other state – nearly 400,000 – pushing our total population to 28.3 million.
Idaho, Nevada and Utah saw the largest percentage of growth at roughly two percent each.
States in the South and West gained nearly two million people as hundreds of thousands of Yankees and foreign immigrants moved into more diverse areas of Texas, Florida, California, Washington.
“If you look at populations by race and ethnicity, non-Hispanic whites are really below replacement in terms of fertility and there are not a lot countries in the world that are large that have large white populations,” says Dr. Steve Murdock, professor os sociology at Rice University and former U.S. Census Bureau director.
Dr. Murdock says the figures also reflect an ongoing economic trend pitting the south against rust belt cities around the great lakes.
“Part of that is their economies are tied to some forms of manufacturing and other things that are growing less rapidly than the communication industry and those sorts of things,” he says. “Diversity growth and diversity of economic bases are both important in terms of population growth.”
Because the survey covers only July 2016 through July 2017, we'll have to wait until next year to learn the impact of this past hurricane season.
“It will likely be slower in Harris County than it has been in the past, but I think we know from such data that Texas is still going to be if not the fastest, among the fastest growing states.”