Southeastern States Exhibit Population Increase In Recent Years
Population increases in many fast-growing counties, particularly in the South, started slowing last year. The demographic shifts suggest that the housing crunch may be forcing many Americans to stay put. People may bee paralyzed in their quest for jobs in growing areas in many parts of the country because the housing market has shut down across the board.
There has been a marked deceleration in population growth in several suburban counties that are farthest from urban centers. These are the counties to which some city residents had flocked in prior years for bigger houses and a different lifestyle. At the same time, urban areas and close-in suburbs were seeing population decreases slow, and in some cases reverse.
Americans continue to seek out the Sunbelt. The 10 counties with the largest population increases were all in California, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina.
