State Populations’ Expansions and Contractions For 2009

Booming states:

CNN Money released their list of state populations in comparison to the past and the clear (and not surprising) winner is Texas for the highest growth rate. As a native Texan, I’m not surprised. Despite the down economy, Texas has the bones for stability- an extremely diverse workforce (state, technology, education, oil, health, etc), a younger than average population and most importantly, a lower cost of living while maintaining a healthy environment and one that is aesthetically pleasing.

On a percentage basis, Nevada experienced the highest growth, booming by 32% since 2000. Since the 2000 Census, the American population has grown nearly 10% bringing the population total to over 307 million residents.

Contracting states

Michigan, Maine and Rhode Island all experienced declining numbers in population, but none over 1% which does make an impact locally but is not so significant that these states are ghost towns. With the economic crisis in full force and people are losing jobs, some are forced to move in with family in other states or move to locations with the lowest cost of living or wherever jobs exist. We’re not talking doomsday Grapes of Wrath stuff here, folks, but no state wants to see a decline in population, it’s bad for business.

Click here to see where your state ranks in current population, then click the green square at the top of the map to see percentage changes over time.

Where to now?

The Census will be performed in 2010 and I bet a close eye will be kept on it given that U.S. House seats are at stake and accuracy will be key. The results will be released at this time next year and I have a feeling that our population map will look quite different, especially when broken down by county. Some boom cities have turned to bust cities, builders have gone under and lending has remained tight, so will we see a rise in suburban living due to the lower cost or will we see a rise in city living with people giving up their cars? What do YOU think?

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Keywords: Economy, real estate market

Topics: News