Article published Dec 29, 2007
Influx fuels rise in U.S. population
December 29, 2007

By Sean Lengell - A new immigrant — legal or illegal — is expected to enter the United States every 30 seconds by January, the U.S. Census Bureau says.

The agency estimates this foreign influx will increase the total U.S. population by one person every 13 seconds.

The U.S. also is expected to register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 11 seconds by next month.

The Census Bureau is projecting the nation's Jan. 1 total population will be 303,146,284 — a 0.9 percent increase from New Year"s Day 2007.

The estimate is similar to recent annual population increases of about 1 percent.

"It's about what we expected," said Census Bureau demographer Greg Harper, referring to the Jan. 1, 2008, estimate. "Growth [for 2007] will be a little bit less than in the past, but it's right in line with what we've seen in growth in the past."

Immigrants were responsible for more than one-third of an estimated nationwide population growth of almost 2.87 million between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to a census report released this week.

About 667,000 immigrants moved to Southern and Western states in the 12-month period ending July 1 — almost double the amount who relocated to the Northeast and Midwest, the Census Bureau says.

Nevada is the nation's fastest-growing state, with an overall population increase of 2.9 percent for the 12-month period ending July 1.

Arizona, which was the fastest-growing state between 2005 and 2006, slipped to second place.

Nevada and Arizona had most of their population gains from other states or foreign nations, not new births. More than 41,000 of Nevada's 72,955 new residents came from other states, while almost 11,000 came from other countries.

Texas' population gain of almost 500,000 people was more than any other state. Runner-up California added about 303,000.

California remained the country's most populous state this year, with 36.6 million residents, followed by Texas with 23.9 million and New York with 19.3 million.

Wyoming was still the least-populous state with 522,830 residents — a gain of only 10,073. But the state's 2 percent population growth ranks among the nation's top 10.

Florida dropped out of the top 10 list for the first time in several years. Its 1.1 percent population growth was tied for 18th with Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Louisiana began to rebound from its post-Hurricane Katrina population loss, gaining nearly 50,000 people for a total population of almost 4.3 million.

The state lost 250,000 residents during the previous one-year period.

Michigan and Rhode Island were the only states to post a decease in population in the year ending July 1.

The populations of the South and West both increased 1.4 percent, while the Midwest and Northeast grew 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

POPULATION GROWTH

Legal immigrants and illegal aliens accounted for more than one-third of the national population growth in the past year. States with the largest total increase in population from July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007:

•Texas: 496,751

•California; 303,343

•Florida: 193,735

•Arizona: 173,066

•Georgia: 202,670

•North Carolina: 191,590

•Colorado: 95,267

•Washington: 93,514

•Tennessee: 81,806

•South Carolina: 77,601

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 92358/1001