Texas is a Growing State

This article is from the Star Telegram...thought this was very good news for all of us that live in Texas.

Texas added more people in past year than any other state
By BILL HANNA
billhanna@star-telegram.com

The economy may be slowing down but Texas is still the big leader in population gains.
From July 2007 to July 2008, Texas added 483,542 people, outdistancing California, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona, according to estimates released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"This is kind of a return to the rapid growth rate that we saw throughout the ’90s," said Texas state demographer Karl Eschbach. "Whether the recession will start slowing things down, I don’t know."
Texas was also the third-fastest-growing state in percentage terms, at 2 percent. Utah was the fastest-growing state, at 2.5 percent, followed by Arizona, with 2.3 percent.
Overall, Texas, with 24.3 million people, is the second-most-populous state, behind California, with 36.8 million. New York is third, with 19.5 million, followed by Florida, 18.3 million, and Illinois, 12.9 million.
Eschbach noted that Texas continues to be near the top for both domestic and international migration. New York and California, the other top two international migration states, also have large patterns of people migrating out, while Texas does not, said Eschbach, who is based at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The strong economy and job creation are the main reasons for Texas’ attractiveness. Other states that have been among the top growing states, such as Nevada, have cooled considerably.
"What’s striking is state after state after state experienced a slowdown in growth rate, and we didn’t," Eschbach said.
The latest estimates ended in July, before the financial crisis and a dramatic drop in energy prices. The unknown is how much that will affect Texas over the next year. Eschbach also cautions that Census Bureau estimates become less reliable the further removed from the previous census, which in this case was in 2000.
Still, most signs are encouraging for Texas.
"One thing you will already notice is that state-to-state migration appears to be slowing down," Eschbach said. "There is much less net movement compared to the middle of the decade. I would expect next year’s numbers to show less population movement than this year numbers. For Texas, the job losses in other states are just really starting to happen here."
Eschbach expects Texas to keep creating jobs but at a slower pace. That may still place Texas at the top of population gains even if the numbers drop dramatically over the next year.
"We’re still among the healthiest economies to be in," Eschbach said. "From the available data we have, we’re seeing the same patterns we’ve been seeing, very rapid growth in all of the major core counties: Tarrant, Harris, Travis and Bexar. Not so much in Dallas. But growth in all of Texas’ major suburban counties: Collin, Denton, Williamson, Hays, Montgomery and Fort Bend. All of those are still growing."

State populations Most people gained

1.Texas 483,542
2.California 379,132
3.North Carolina 180,820
4.Georgia 162,447
5.Arizona 146,759
6.Florida 128,814
7.Washington 99,713
8.Colorado 96,686
9.Illinois 75,754
10.South Carolina 74,886

Highest percentage growth

1.Utah 2.5%
2.Arizona 2.3%
3.Texas 2.0%
4.North Carolina 2.0%
5.Colorado 2.0%
6.Idaho 1.8%
7.Wyoming 1.8%
8.Nevada 1.8%
9.Georgia 1.7%
10.South Carolina 1.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, based on estimates from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008.