Still gaining

Our state's steady growth in population is proving remarkably durable. While some Sun Belt states that grew at astonishing rates earlier in the decade have slowed way down, North Carolina continues to shine. Our population boom wasn't as loud, but it has come without the bust.

Not so in Nevada, Arizona and Florida. When their development-fueled growth turned out to be built (almost literally) on a house of cards, these magnets for migration from northern states lost their attraction. Lately they have been exporting more people than importing them (although some natural population growth continues). Meanwhile, North Carolina gained about 59,000 residents from other states in the 12 months ending July 1, the Census Bureau estimates. That's a lower number than in recent years, but given the economy it's a vote of confidence nonetheless.

Taking into account births, deaths and the excess of in-migration over out-migration, the state added an estimated 133,750 residents in that one-year span. That was the third-largest gain among the states. In all there are now about 9.4 million North Carolinians, up from 8 million in 2000. It's been quite a decade.

That larger picture, reaching back to the turn of this century, is worth a look. It shows that despite recent troubles, Southern and Sun Belt states were indeed big gainers over the past decade. Texas, to take the most prominent example, grew by 19 percent from 2000 to 2009 - a considerable rise in a state with such a large population. It's expected that after the 2010 federal census Texas will add three congressional seats. Nevada, Florida and Arizona are likely to pick up one apiece, despite their recent slowdowns.

North Carolina, apparently, may just miss out on gaining a 14th seat in the House. That matters a lot to politicians but not much to ordinary folks. The more important thing is that solid, sustainable population growth continues, even if, unfortunately, some areas of the state have so far missed out.

Growth brings its share of problems, but in general they're not bad problems to have. Overall, we must be doing something right.