The nation's population grew by over 2.63 million people, or 0.9 percent between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009, according to recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. This brings the total U.S. population to over 307 million.
Texas topped the nation in population change, gaining 478,012 people between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009. Rounding out the list of the five states with the largest gains is California (381,293), North Carolina (133,750), Georgia (131,373), and Florida (114,091). Population totals decreased in Michigan (-32,759), Maine (-1,390) and Rhode Island (-293).
Wyoming had the largest percent change in population with a 2.12 percent increase. Following closely were Utah (2.1), Texas (2.0%), Colorado (1.8%), and the District of Columbia (1.6%).
Missouri's population increased by 31,245, or 0.5 percent, between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009. With 5,987,580 people, Missouri has the 18th largest population among the states and the District of Columbia. Since the 2000 Census, population in the state has increased by 392,369 (7.0 percent) compared to the national average of 9.1 percent growth.
Of the surrounding states, Missouri has the third largest population, following Illinois (12.9 million) and Tennessee (6.3 million). Oklahoma had the fastest rate of growth among these states from 2008 to 2009 at 1.2 percent.
| Missouri and Surrounding State Population Estimates | ||||||||
| NAME | Population Rank | 2000 | 2008 | 2009 | % Change 2000 to 2009 | % Change 2008 to 2009 | Populaton Change 2000 to 2009 | Population Change 2008 to 2009 |
| Illinois | 5 | 12,419,293 | 12,842,954 | 12,910,409 | 4.0% | 0.5% | 491,116 | 67,455 |
| Tennessee | 17 | 5,689,283 | 6,240,456 | 6,296,254 | 10.7% | 0.9% | 606,971 | 55,798 |
| Oklahoma | 29 | 3,450,654 | 3,644,025 | 3,687,050 | 6.9% | 1.2% | 236,396 | 43,025 |
| Missouri | 18 | 5,595,211 | 5,956,335 | 5,987,580 | 7.0% | 0.5% | 392,369 | 31,245 |
| Kentucky | 26 | 4,041,769 | 4,287,931 | 4,314,113 | 6.7% | 0.6% | 272,344 | 26,182 |
| Arkansas | 33 | 2,673,400 | 2,867,764 | 2,889,450 | 8.1% | 0.8% | 216,050 | 21,686 |
| Kansas | 34 | 2,688,418 | 2,797,375 | 2,818,747 | 4.8% | 0.8% | 130,329 | 21,372 |
| Nebraska | 39 | 1,711,263 | 1,781,949 | 1,796,619 | 5.0% | 0.8% | 85,356 | 14,670 |
| Iowa | 31 | 2,926,324 | 2,993,987 | 3,007,856 | 2.8% | 0.5% | 81,532 | 13,869 |
| United States | ***** | 281,421,906 | 304,374,846 | 307,006,550 | 9.1% | 0.9% | 25,584,644 | 2,631,704 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Division
Other interesting details:
- Net domestic migration has slowed dramatically in many states in the South and West, including Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, South Carolina and Montana.
- Several states have negative net domestic migration, which means more people are moving out than moving in. Florida and Nevada, which earlier in the decade had net inflows, are now experiencing new outflows.
- Louisiana’s July 1, 2009 population, 4.5 million, is up 40,563, or 0.91 percent, from a year earlier.
- The estimated July 1, 2009, population for Puerto Rico was 4 million, up by 0.32 percent (12,735) from one year earlier.
Portions of this report were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Press Release from December 23, 2009.
