Idaho was named the fourth fastest-growing state in the nation for the third consecutive year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Thursday.
The state added more than 35,000 residents — a 2.4 percent increase — between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, for a total population of 1,499,402. Nevada, with a 2.9 percent increase, experienced the nation’s fastest growth rate followed by Arizona and Utah, continuing a pattern of strong growth in the nation’s western interior.
Nationally, the U.S. population grew by 1 percent.
While Idaho remains as the 39th most populated state in the nation, the Gem state ranked 14th in the number of people moving here from mid-2006 to mid-2007, accounting for the majority of the population increase. More than 21,000 people moved to Idaho from other states or countries, the Census Bureau found. The rest of the population growth resulted from births exceeding deaths by over 14,000.
From April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2007, Idaho’s population has continually ranked among the fastest growing states, increasing by nearly 16 percent, or more than 200,000 people. That rate ranks fifth behind Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Georgia and is twice the national rate over the past seven years. More than 100,000 people came to Idaho from other states and 17,000 from other countries.
Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona attracted the most new residents from other states in the last year while California continued as the state with the most international immigration growth.
Some states showed out migration rates to other states while experiencing in migration from other countries. California, for instance, gained 230,000 new residents from other countries from mid-2006 to mid-2007 but lost more than 260,000 residents domestically, which partially helps explain higher rates of population change in other Western states like Idaho.
Idaho’s economy remains among the best in the nation despite slower growth since spring. While job creation was strong, it fell about 11,000 short of the 28,000 new jobs created in 2006. Unemployment benefit claims also ended a four-year decline last February and have been running above previous-year levels since. Construction employment, which has been a major source of economic growth the past three years, was flat during 2007, and manufacturing, which expanded in 2005 and 2006, lost jobs to the layoffs at Micron Technology and other businesses. But Idaho’s comparatively low operating costs, skilled labor force and quality life style continue to attract both business operators and workers, which is expected to keep the economy performing ahead of the nation.