Census: California gains 2nd largest number of new residents
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
California was the second-largest gainer of residents between July 2008 and July 2009, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Texas gained more people than any other state (478,000), followed by California (381,000), North Carolina (134,000), Georgia (131,000) and Florida (114,000).
California remained the most populous state, with a July 1, 2009, population of 37 million. Rounding out the top five states were Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.5 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).
"This is the final set of Census Bureau state population estimates that will be published before the official 2010 Census population counts to be released next December," said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. "We are focused now on ensuring we get a complete and accurate count in 2010. The census counts will not only determine how many U.S. House seats each state will have but will also be used as the benchmark for future population estimates."
Wyoming showed the largest percentage growth: its population climbed 2.12 percent to 544,270. Utah was next largest, growing 2.10 percent to 2.8 million. Texas ranked third, as its population climbed 1.97 percent to 24.8 million, with Colorado next (1.81 percent to 5 million).
The only three states to lose population over the period were Michigan (-0.33 percent), Maine (-0.11 percent) and Rhode Island (-0.03 percent). The latter two states had small population changes.
