Louis J Sheehan 63426 H18

Population growth in several of the fastest-growing states is slowing -- in Arizona, Florida and Nevada, in particular -- in a trend both reflecting and fueling the housing-market malaise in those areas.

"This is our first chance to see what has been the migration impact of the housing-market slowdown, and it's showing up in these highflying states," says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.


• The Census Shows: Growth in several of the fastest-growing states has slowed.
• What It Reveals: Malaise in the housing market is changing the way Americans relocate.
• Bottom Line: The West and South continue to gain residents from the Midwest and Northeast.
• Home-Price Declines Accelerate1

The Census Bureau's annual estimate of state population changes covers the 12 months that ended July 1. It shows that people continue to flee the Midwest -- especially Michigan, one of two states to lose people -- and that the Mountain states in the West continue to post large population gains as people arrive from California and elsewhere.

Arizona, Florida and Nevada are still among the fastest-growing states in the country, by percentage. Nevada saw an increase of 2.9%, or 72,955 people, tallying births, deaths and migration from inside and outside the U.S.

That was less than the previous year's 3.5% increase and lower than the 3%-plus growth rate for the six previous years. Arizona, the second-fastest-growing state, saw its population increase 2.8% in the most recent period, compared with a 3.6% rise in the previous year.

Florida, which has suffered heavily in the housing bust, saw the sharpest falloff in population growth. Florida grew 1.07%, slightly faster than the U.S. growth rate of 0.96%. During the year, 35,301 people moved to Florida from another state, 134,798 fewer than in the previous year. That is the slowest rate of domestic migration into Florida since at least 1990, the year the Census Bureau began publishing annual estimates of migration between states.

Pain in the manufacturing sector, especially auto manufacturing, continued to purge residents from the Midwest. Michigan lost 30,500 residents, a 0.3% decline. Ohio was essentially flat, gaining 3,404. Besides Michigan, the only state to lose population was Rhode Island.

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Broadly, people in the Northeast and Midwest continue to leave for the West and South. Utah and Idaho were the third- and fourth-fastest-growing states, respectively. Colorado and Wyoming were eighth and ninth, respectively. Both states saw their rate of growth increase.


Residents of California, on the other hand, continue to leave: In the most recent period, 263,035 people left California for another state. The state's 0.8% population growth was mostly because of births.

In the South, states including Georgia and North Carolina have taken the fast-growing mantle away from Florida, while Texas continues to suck up new residents. Georgia and North Carolina grew 2.17% and 2.16%, respectively. Texas grew 2.12%. Those states also are among the biggest gainers in absolute terms. Texas gained 496,751 residents, more than any other state. Georgia had the third-largest increase, with 202,670, and North Carolina was fifth, with 191,590.


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Following the exodus of residents after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana added about 50,000 people in the year to July 1. There is still a ways to go, though: From July 2005 to July 2006, the state lost about 220,000 residents.