Nevada holds lead in growth

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

Booming

The Census Bureau ranked the 10 fastest-growing states, along with their growth rate in the past year and their estimated population as of July.

The U.S. Census Bureau issued another confirmation today that there are a lot more people crowding the roads, schools and subdivisions of Nevada. The bureau today issued population estimates showing that Nevada was the nation's fastest-growing state over the last year.

Between July 1, 1998, and July 1, 1999, Nevada's estimated population increased by 3.8 percent -- far above the national rate of increase of 0.9 percent. Since 1990, according to Census Bureau estimates, "the Silver State has grown by a stunning 51 percent."

It was the 14th consecutive year that Nevada has led the nation in population growth.

Bureau demographers attributed much of the increase to growth in urban areas. In estimates released earlier this month, the bureau found that Southern Nevada grew by 55 percent over the last eight years -- the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country.

A third census study issued earlier this month points out the rate of growth for the region. The bureau said this month that Nevada has the fastest growing housing market in the nation, registering a 48 percent jump between 1990 and 1998, from 519,000 homes to 767,000.

Not all of Nevada's neighbors grew as quickly. Marc Perry, bureau demographer, said the Rocky Mountain states can be roughly divided into two groups -- those with large urban centers and those without.

Those with urban centers of more than 1 million people, including Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, continued growing at break-neck speed.

"Those states without the large urban populations weren't growing as fast as the others," Perry said.

The much-talked about transformation in employment fundamentals driven by the Internet economy hasn't really panned out for some Western states, he said. People, or at least most of them, can't electronically commute to their jobs. They still need to live close to urban areas to find work, he said.

In Nevada, about three-quarters of the state's 1.8 million people live within commuting distance of Las Vegas.

The latest economic data from the state government backs up Perry's hypothesis.

Rapid population growth in Southern Nevada has continued apace with economic growth, the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said in employment data released this week. The trend was illustrated by a 10 percent increase in air passenger traffic through the first half of the year and the Clark County School District's need for 1,500 more teachers for the upcoming school year.

Retail establishments are opening at a rapid pace in the southern part of Nevada. The state estimates that 8 million square feet of new retail space will open in the Las Vegas area in 1999 and 2000.

In contrast, counties in the north part of the state have seen their fortunes decline, as mining continues to lose pace. Humboldt County has lost at least one-third of its mining jobs -- the county's main employment source -- in the last three years. A similar percentage decrease in Las Vegas's main increase would be the loss of 60,000 gaming jobs.

Migrations from other states fueled much of Nevada's increase. Between 1998 and 1999, Nevada led the nation in net domestic migration -- 2.3 percent of the 1998 population hailing from other states.

Over one-third of those new immigrants to Nevada are coming from next door California, Perry said. Many of those are moving to retire here, he added.

Some people are coming from farther away. Nevada tied with Florida as the fourth most likely state for people from other countries to settle in, Perry said.

But those numbers could be a bit deceiving, he said. The destination of international migrants is tracked through the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service's questioning of new arrivals to the United States.

But after a short time in the United States, foreign-born residents who move between states are considered part of the "domestic," or inter-state, migrant group, Perry said. The large numbers of people from California includes many who originally came from other countries, he said.

The West and South set the pace for population growth for the year ending July 1, 1999. The other fastest-growing states last year were Arizona (up 2.4 percent), Colorado (2.2 percent), Georgia (2.0 percent) and Idaho (1.7 percent).

The West remained the fastest-growing region in the country, with a population increase of 1.5 percent between 1998 and 1999. Montana (0.4 percent), New Mexico (0.4 percent) and Alaska (0.7 percent), however, all grew at rates below the national average and Wyoming (minus 0.1 percent) and Hawaii (minus 0.4 percent) actually lost population.

The South's growth rate of 1.2 percent made it second in growth among regions. Georgia, with a growth rate of 2.0 percent, was again the region's fastest-growing state, followed by Texas at 1.7 percent and North Carolina and Florida, both at 1.4 percent.

The District of Columbia (minus 0.5 percent) and West Virginia (minus 0.3 percent) lost population. The district is considered a state equivalent for statistical purposes.

California, Texas, Florida and New York had the largest populations, the bureau estimated.

"While Texas (20.0 million) remains second to California (33.1 million), the estimated growth of Florida's population (to 15.1 million) in recent decades has been substantial," Perry said. "As recently as 1950, Florida had fewer than 3 million people."

Of the four states that now are estimated to have more than 15 million people, only New York (18.2 million) is outside the South or West.

Population growth in the Midwest increased slightly to 0.5 percent last year. Minnesota's population was the fastest growing in the region (17th in the nation), increasing by 1.0 percent. No other state in the region grew faster than the national average, and North Dakota (minus 0.6 percent) lost 4,000 residents.

The Northeast continued to be the nation's slowest-growing region, with a population growth rate of 0.3 percent last year, but this was an increase from the rate of 0.2 percent in the previous year. New Hampshire was again the region's fastest-growing state, increasing 1.3 percent. It was the only state in the region to grow faster than the national average. Pennsylvania's loss of 8,000 was the largest numerical loss.