For the first time in history, with births outpacing deaths and attracting more domestic migration, population growth in the Southern region of the country outpaced other areas by more than 1.3 million people.
According to Census Bureau population estimates revealed by Fox News, the Northeast and the West lost the most people in 2022.
From mid-2021 to mid-2022, approximately 233,000 people left one western state and moved to a different region. Nearly 868,000 people moved to a southern state from another area.
Six southern states have the highest growth
Last year, of the 10 fastest-growing states in the country, six were in the South: Florida with the highest rate (1.9%), followed by Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, topped the ranking.
The Associated Press quoted several experts who say that domestic migration to these states has to do with their excellent living conditions: housing affordability, lower taxes and the popularity of working from home. Baby Boomers are another determining factor. Many choose to move to these parts of the country after retiring.
Demographer Michael Cline, a South Carolina resident, told AP that growth in this region has been "above and beyond" trends experienced before the pandemic.
The West is declining
The West began to lose population in 2021. Prior to that year, internal migration was favorable for these states, as it had been steadily increasing every year since 2010. Much of this population loss is from people choosing to leave California. In 2021, Los Angeles county had the largest net fiscal loss due to migration, with more than 74,000 people leaving the area.
The strict business regulations, housing crisis, high taxes and poor-quality public services are possible reasons for the decline in the state's population, not to mention the growing fiscal pressure. Per capita public spending rose in California by 52% from 2000 to 2019. Although it is considered "the world's fifth largest economy," a fiscal crisis is inevitable.
What little growth the western states may have is attributed to new "international residents." This is due to the historic increase in illegal immigrants entering the country and because births outnumbered deaths.
Likewise, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington also had year-over-year declines in domestic migration from 2021 to 2022. States such as Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah saw small increases in migration but those gains were negligible and smaller than in 2021.
