New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Idaho is the nation’s fastest growing state.
According to Census Bureau demographer Molly Cromwell, between July of 2016 and July of this year, “the population for Idaho increased 2.2 percent to 1.7 million.”
That might not sound like a lot, but it’s enough to make the Gem State the fastest growing state. Behind Idaho is Nevada with 2 percent growth.
Cromwell says domestic migration is behind the rising population. That’s people moving to Idaho from other states. She isn’t surprised Idaho took the top spot.
“If you follow the trends from about 2013 on, there has been an increase in domestic migration for Idaho since that point,” she says.
Another highlight in the data Cromwell points to is evidence showing the West and the South are increasing in their proportion of the U.S. population. Idaho’s eastern neighbor, Wyoming, experienced the greatest amount of depopulation. A full 1 percent of the Cowboy State’s population – about 5,600 people – left.
Nationally, the U.S. population increased by about three-quarters of one percent to a little over 325 million.
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