Southern States Lead US Population Growth

Five Southern states saw the highest population growth in the last year, making the South the only region to gain new residents, reports Tim Henderson in Stateline.

Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina gained nearly 1.2 million new residents, while the national population grew by 1.6 million. “South Carolina had the largest percentage increase between mid-2022 and mid-2023, a 1.7% increase of about 91,000 residents, most of it from people moving in from other states.”

Florida officials say they expect their state’s population growth, which is concentrated in areas with retirement communities, to slow “as baby boomers age out of the 50-70 age range that feeds most moves to the state.”

On the other end of the spectrum, “Population dropped in eight states, down from 19 last year: New York, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Hawaii and West Virginia.”