The nation's population grew by nearly 2.87 million people, or 1.0 percent between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007, according to recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. This brings the total U.S. population to over 301.6 million.
Nevada experienced the fastest growth among states over this period as its population grew by 2.9 percent. Rounding out the list of the five most rapidly growing states is Arizona (2.8 percent), Utah (2.6 percent), Idaho (2.4 percent), and Georgia (2.2 percent). Population totals decreased in Michigan (-0.3) percent and Rhode Island (-0.4 percent).
Missouri's population increased by 40,776, or 0.7 percent, between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007. With 5,878,415 people, Missouri has the 18th largest population among the states and the District of Columbia. Since the 2000 Census, population in the state has increased by 281,732 (5.0 percent) compared to the national average of 7.2 percent growth.
Of the surrounding states, Missouri has the third largest population, following Illinois (12.8 million) and Tennessee (6.1million). Tennessee had the fastest rate of growth among these states from 2006 to 2007 at 1.3 percent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Division
Other interesting details:
- Nevada returned to the nation's fastest-growing state after falling second to Arizona in 2006.
- The nations 10 most populous states accounted for 54.2 percent of the nations population on July 1, 2007.
- The five states with the largest numerical growth (Texas, California, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina) accounted for nearly half (48 percent) of the nations population growth from 2006 to 2007.
Portions of this report were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Press Release from December 27, 2007.
