NC in Focus: Growth rate of southern states, 2010-2015

North Carolina’s population grew by 5.3% between 2010 and 2015, faster than the national growth rate of 4.1%. Nationwide, this was the 15^th fastest growth rate among the states.

Seven of the 15 fastest-growing states were southern states (a U.S. Census Bureau regional definition that includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia), six were western states, such as Colorado and Utah, and two—North and South Dakota—were Midwestern. Among the 17 southern states, North Carolina had the 7^th fastest growth rate. North Carolina’s growth was less than rapidly growing D.C. (11.7%), Texas (9.2%), and Florida (7.8%), but similar to growth rates in neighboring South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.