Utah is the nation's fastest-growing state according to the latest census data. Its population climbed 2.5 percent in the last reported year.
The only two states to lose population were Michigan and Rhode Island. Michigan's population declined 0.5 percent (46,000), while Rhode Island's fell 0.2 percent (2,000).
California remained the most populous state, with about 36.8 million people on July 1, 2008. Rounding out the top five states were Texas (24.3 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.3 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).
- Utah
Population gain: 67,499
2008: 2,736,424
2007: 2,668,925
% growth: 2.5 - Arizona
Population gain: 146,759
2008: 6,500,180
2007: 6,353,421
% growth: 2.3 - North Carolina
Population gain: 180,820
2008: 9,222,414
2007: 9,041,594
% growth: 2.0 -
Population gain: 483,542
2008: 24,326,974
2007: 23,843,432
% growth: 2.0 - Colorado
Population gain: 96,686
2008: 4,939,456
2007: 4,842,770
% growth: 2.0 - Idaho
Population gain: 27,671
2008: 1,523,816
2007: 1,496,145
% growth: 1.8 - Nevada
Population gain: 45,823
2008: 2,600,167
2007: 2,554,344
% growth: 1.8 - Wyoming
Population gain: 9,416
2008: 532,668
2007: 523,252
% growth: 1.8 - Georgia
Population gain: 162,447
2008: 9,685,744
2007: 9,523,297
% growth: 1.7 - South Carolina
Population gain: 74,886
2008: 4,479,800
2007: 4,404,914
% growth: 1.7
Other highlights:
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- Six of the 10 fastest-growing states from 2007 to 2008 were Rocky Mountain states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Three others lined the South Atlantic coast: Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- The West was the fastest-growing region (1.4 percent) between 2007 and 2008, but the South added the highest number of people over the period (1.4 million).
- The estimated July 1, 2008, population for Puerto Rico was 4 million, up by 0.3 percent (13,000) from one year earlier.
Source: Census.gov