Nation’s growth may be slowing, but Washington is adding babies faster than other states
As the nation slows its growth, Washington is adding babies faster than any other state. That’s according to new estimated data released recently from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Washington had 612 more births in 2019 than in 2018. The state is one of only eight that saw a year-over-year increase in the number of births, according to the Census Bureau.
Washington was No. 7 in overall growth rate. The state’s population was pegged at 7,614,893 on July 1, 2019 — a 1.2 percent increase over 2018. Idaho led the nation with its 2.1 percent increase for a total of 1,787,065 people.
The nation’s population was 328,239,523 in 2019, growing by 0.5 percent between 2018 and 2019, or 1,552,022 people.
Fewer births and an increasing number of deaths have steadily slowed the nation’s growth over the past decade, the Census Bureau said.
“While natural increase is the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has been slowing over the last five years,” said Sandra Johnson, a demographer/statistician with the Census Bureau. “Natural increase, or when the number of births is greater than the number of deaths, dropped below 1 million in 2019 for the first time in decades.”
Texas added the most people: 367,215 for a base population of 26,995,881.
California still ranks as the most populous state with 39,512,223. But it didn’t make the Top 10 for growth rate or the number of people added.
Net international migration (immigrants minus emigrants) continues to decrease in the U.S. Over the past decade, net international migration peaked in 2016 at 1,046,709. The estimate for 2019 is 595,348.
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
