BOISE, Idaho — And the winner of the race to claim the title of fastest-growing state in the nation goes to, drum roll please...
Idaho!
And Nevada.
Yep, it's a tie between the two, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau numbers.
The agency has released a slew of population data for states (and Puerto Rico) from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018. Among the nuggets of info gleaned from that storm of stats is that the populations of Idaho and Nevada each ballooned by 2.1 percent during those 12 months.
According to the new data, Idaho's population grew from 1,718,904 in 2017 to 1,754,208 in 2018. The population was 1,567,657 in 2010.
Nevada's population rose from 2,972,405 in July 2017 to 3,034,392 in July of this year.
Runners-up in the other top spots percentage-growth race were, in order: Utah, Arizona, Florida and Washington (tie), Colorado, Texas and South Carolina (another tie) and North Carolina.
Interestingly, nine states - and Puerto Rico - actually saw their populations shrink. The Census Bureau attributed that to fewer births and more deaths in recent years in those areas.
“If those states are not gaining from either domestic or international migration they will experience either low population growth or outright decline," Sandra Johnson, a demographer/statistician in the Population Division of the Census Bureau.," said in a news release.
Here are some other stats included in the new round of data from the Census Bureau:
TOP 10 MOST POPULOUS STATES 2018
1. California (39,557,045)
2. Texas (28,701,845)
3. Florida (21,299,325)
4. New York (19,542,209)
5. Pennsylvania (12,807,060)
6. Illinois (12,741,080)
7. Ohio (11,689,442)
8. Georgia (10,519,475)
9. North Carolina (10,383,620)
10. Michigan (9,995,915)
TOP 10 STATES IN NUMERIC GROWTH 2017-2018
1. Texas (379,128)
2. Florida (322,513)
3. California (157,696)
4. Arizona (122,770)
5. North Carolina (112,820)
6. Washington (110,159)
7. Georgia (106,420)
8. Colorado (79,662)
9. South Carolina (62,908)
10. Nevada (61,987)
