Nevada’s population increased by 3.5 percent between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, marking the 19th consecutive year that Nevada has been the fastest-growing state, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Arizona was a close second with a growth rate just under 3.5 percent.

     The nation’s population rose by 0.9 percent (2.8 million people) over the period, to 296.4 million.

     The South and West again monopolized the list of the fastest-growing states; Idaho, Florida, Utah, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Delaware and Oregon rounded out the top 10. (See attached table. [Excel])

     Oregon replaced New Mexico on the list of the top 10 fastest-growing states this year. The South now accounts for 36 percent of the nation’s total population, with the West comprising 23 percent, the Midwest 22 percent and the Northeast 18 percent.

     California remained the most populous state in the nation with 36.1 million people in 2005. The second and third most populous states were Texas (22.9 million) and New York (19.3 million).

     Other highlights:

• Florida experienced the largest numerical population increase between 2004 and 2005, as its population rose by 404,000 people. Texas was not far behind, gaining 388,000.
  
  
• The five states with the largest numerical growth (Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and Georgia) accounted for more than one-half (52 percent) of the nation’s population growth from 2004 to 2005.
  
  
• The South recorded both the largest numerical population increase (1.5 million) and the fastest rate of growth (1.4 percent) among regions between 2004 and 2005.
  
  
• The nation’s 10 most populous states accounted for 54 percent of the nation’s population on July 1, 2005.
  
  
• Of the 10 most populous states in 2005, three (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) are in the Northeast, three (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan) in the Midwest, three (Texas, Florida, Georgia) in the South and one (California) in the West.
  
  
• Among the 20 most populous states, Washington replaced Indiana in the number 14 slot, while Arizona replaced Missouri at number 17.

The population estimate for Puerto Rico for July 1, 2005, was 3.9 million, up about 17,000 since July 1, 2004. Puerto Rico’s rate of increase was 0.4 percent.

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These population estimates are for the July 1, 2005, date and, thus, do not include the impact of Hurricane Katrina, which occurred after the July date.

The Census Bureau develops state population estimates by measuring the population change since the most recent census. It uses births, deaths, administrative records and survey data to develop estimates of migration. For more detail regarding the methodology, see <http://www.census.gov/popest/topics/methodology/>.