Idaho again among fast-growing states in population, but the growth is slowing down
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Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — For the seventh year running, Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S. based on percentage increase of population, though its annual gains are slowing.
The repeat top-five rankings, which date to 2016, continue the Gem State’s streak of population growth at more than 1% per year. For the period from July 2022 to July 2023, Idaho netted nearly 26,000 more residents, or an increase of about 1.3%, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Last year, Idaho ranked second in the same category, with about 35,000 new residents, or what represented 1.8% growth. Before that, the state was No. 1 for the period from 2020 to 2021, with more than 53,000 newcomers, or 2.9% growth.
Only South Carolina, Florida and Texas experienced a higher population growth by percentage than Idaho over the last year. North Carolina rounded out the top five.
With the latest gains, Idaho inches ever closer to a total population of 2 million people. At the current rate of growth, the state — now with about 1,965,000 people — would surpass the figure by 2025.
Based strictly on the number of additional residents, Idaho didn’t crack the top 10 this time around, the data showed. Colorado and Utah were the only two Mountain West states to do so, at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively — each with about 36,500 new residents.
Texas was by far No. 1 in the category, with approaching a half-million people becoming residents of the state. Florida placed second with more than 365,000 newcomers to the state, the Census Bureau estimated.
Eight states lost population from 2022 to 2023, the data showed. New York led the way with about 102,000 people exiting the state, while California was second at more than 75,000 packing up their bags for elsewhere. Oregon ranked sixth for population loss, at about 6,000 residents departing.
Overall, the U.S. experienced an increase of more than 1.6 million people, or about a half-percent, over the past year, the data showed. The gains were spread across 42 states and Washington, D.C. — the highest number of U.S. states to see growth in a year since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau reported.
“U.S. migration returning to prepandemic levels, and a drop in deaths are driving the nation’s growth,” Kristie Wilder, a U.S. Census Bureau demographer, said in a news release. “Although births declined, this was tempered by the near 9% decrease in deaths. Ultimately, fewer deaths paired with rebounding immigration resulted in the nation experiencing its largest population gain since 2018.”
The U.S. population now stands at almost 335 million people, the Census Bureau said. The number of people living in Idaho represents about a half-percent of that total.
The global population is up to more than 8 billion people, according to an estimate from the United Nations and U.S. Census Bureau. At that number, the U.S. makes up less than 4.2% of the world’s total.
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