Population Growth – Idaho Tops Nation

Last December, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Idaho’s population totaled 1.72 million, and grew at a rate of 2.2 percent from mid-2016 to mid-2017. This was the fastest growth rate in the nation and three times faster than the national average of 0.7 percent. Of Idaho’s neighboring states, Nevada was second with 2.0 percent growth and Utah, with 1.9 percent, was third. Wyoming’s population declined by 1 percent to 579,300 – one of just five states to see a decline during this time.

The Census Bureau’s components of change only reveal broad categories of Idaho’s population growth – natural increase and net-migration.  Of the 36,917 new residents to Idaho, only 28 percent was the result of natural increase – births minus deaths – while 72 percent was from in-migration, primarily domestic.

Idaho’s Total In-Migration

So where are these people coming from who are moving to Idaho? The 2016 American Community Survey state-to-state migration tables, the most recent data available, can provide some answers. According to the Census Bureau, about 80,000 people were new residents to Idaho in 2016. Of those, 17,000, or about 21 percent, were from California – the largest single source of new Idaho residents, followed by Washington at 9,300.  Almost 8,500 of new Idaho residents came from a foreign country, the third largest source of in-migration, representing 9.5 percent of the total. Eight of the top 10 sources of in-migration were western states. Continue reading →