U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million; Missouri’s Approaches 6 Million

The United States Census Bureau said the nation reached 300 million people at approximately 8:46 a.m. Missouri time, October 17. The U.S. is the third country to be home to at least 300 million people. The other two are China and India, home to more than 1 billion each (mid-October 2006).

 Other nations over or approaching the 200 million mark are:

The Census' U.S. projection is based on estimates for births, deaths and net immigration that add up to one new American every 11 seconds.

*Missouri did not become a state until 1821 but its population was previously counted in anticipation of statehood.

To 400 Million
It took the United States more than 100 years to reach its first 100 million in 1915, when Missouri’s population was over 3 million. After another 52 years, the U.S. reached 200 million, when Missouri’s was over 4.5 million. It’s taken less than 40 years for the nation to hit the 300-million mark. Since 1967, the U.S. population has grown 50% and that of Missouri 21 percent.

Within another 37 years, the U.S. is projected to pass 400 million. Missouri Office of Administration population projections put Missouri’s population at around 6.2 million by 2025.

Steady Shift West and South, More Education
One of the most significant demographic trends of the 20th and 21st centuries has been the steady shift of the population west and south. Between 1970 and 2000, as Americans moved out of the Northeast and Midwest, the population share in the South and West rose from 48 percent to 58 percent of the national total.

Overall, a snapshot of Americans ages 25 and older shows that the share who finished high school soared from under one quarter in 1940 to just over half by 1970, and to 84 percent by 2005. Missouri’s percentage was consistently below the national average until this decade, when it overtook the US average.

Immigration
Census says that the number of foreign-born people in the United States has reached an all-time high of more than 35 million, or 12 percent. In Missouri, that number is almost 194,000, or 3.4 percent. It has been rising steadily this decade; it was 3.1 percent in 2002.

Still, the current share of foreign-born is lower in the U.S. than it was between 1860 and 1920, when it ranged from 13 to 15 percent. The largest share of immigrants to the United States still comes from Latin America, and from Mexico in particular. And the share from Asia has grown substantially since the 1960s—from 13 percent in the 1960s to 32 percent in the early 2000s. This Asian mini-boom is also reflected in Missouri’s population, especially in major metropolitan areas. In 1990, 41,277 Missourians declared themselves to be of Asian origin. By 2000, that number had risen to 61,595.

Fun Facts
Governor/President
    2006 (U.S. population 300 million): Matt Blunt/George W. Bush
     1967 (200 million): Warren Eastman Hearnes/Lyndon B. Johnson
     1915 (100 million): Elliot Woolfolk Major/Woodrow Wilson

Cost of a gallon of regular gas, national
    2006: $2.22 (Oct. 16)
     1967: 33 cents ($2.00 in 2006 dollars)
     1915: 25 cents ($5.01 in 2006 dollars)

Cost of a first-class stamp
    2006: 39 cents
     1967: 5 cents
     1915: 2 cents

World Population
     2006: 6.5 billion
     1967: 3.5 billion
     1915: 1.8 billion

Coming to America
    2006: 34.3 million/12 percent of population is foreign-born
    Mexico is the leading country of origin. (Data pertain to 2004.)
    1967: 9.7 million/5 percent
    Italy was the leading country of origin. (Data pertain to 1960.)
    1915: 13.5 million/15 percent
    Germany was the leading country of origin. (Data pertain to 1910.)

Living Longer
Life expectancy at birth (US only)
     2006: 77.8 years
     1967: 70.5 years
     1915: 54.5 years

Working Women (US only)
Percentage of women in the labor force, age 16 and older (10 and older for 1915).
     2006: 59%
     1967: 41%
     1915: 23%

Click here for the U.S. and world population clocks

Click here for US Census data and maps, 1790-1960

Sources: US Census Bureau, wikipedia (Missouri governors), AAA daily Fuel Gauge Report, Missouri Office of Administration Division of Budget & Planning statistics.

 

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