National Association of Conservation Districts

National Association of Conservation Districts

NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

Population Growth

Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas
Rank, Metropolitan Area,
Percent of Change from 1990-2000
1. Las Vegas, NV
83.3%
2. Naples, FL
65.3%
3. Yuma, AZ
49.7%
4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
48.5%
5. Austin-San Marcos, TX
47.7%
6. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
47.5%
7. Boise City, ID
46.1%
8. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
45.3%
9. Laredo, TX
44.9%
10. Provo-Orem, UT
39.8%
11. Atlanta, GA
38.9%
12. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
38.9%
13. Myrtle Beach, SC
36.5%
14. Wilmington, NC
36.3%
15. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
35.1%
16. Orlando, FL
34.3%
17. Reno, NV
33.3%
18. Ocala, FL
32.9%
19. Auburn-Opelika, AL
32.1%
20. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL
31.6%

The United States grew by 32.7 million people between 1990 and 2000, the largest 10-year population increase in U.S. history. For the first time in the 20th century all states gained population, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

The nation’s population was 281.4 million in 2000 and rose to an estimated 288.4 million in November 2002.

The fastest-growing region in the past decade was the West at 19.7 percent, which added 10.4 million people. The fastest-growing states in the nation were all located in the West: Nevada (66.3 percent), Arizona (40.0 percent), Colorado (30.6 percent), Utah (29.6 percent) and Idaho (28.5 percent). California recorded the largest numeric increase of any state, 4.1 million people.

The South was the second fastest-growing region (17.3 percent). Georgia was its fastest growing state (up 26.4 percent). Texas and Florida showed the largest numeric increases.

The Midwest grew by 7.9 percent. The state with the nation's lowest population growth was in the Midwest: North Dakota (up 0.5 percent).

Population in the Northeast increased by 5.5 percent.

In 2000, more than 8 out of 10 people lived in metropolitan areas, and 3 in 10 were in metro areas of at least 5 million people.

As of July 1, 2001, more than half (54.2 percent) of Americans lived in the ten most populous states. California was the most populous state with 34.5 million people, followed by Texas (21.3 million) and New York (19.0 million). The next seven most populous states are Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey and Georgia.

For more information on the 2000 census, see http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html