RALEIGH -- North Carolina has remained among the fastest-growing states in the nation during the economic downturn, adding an estimated 121,000 residents in the 15 months that ended in July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The state had an estimated 9,656,401 residents on July 1, or 1.3 percent more than the decennial census count on April 1, 2010. The nation's population grew 0.9 percent during that time, the slowest growth rate since the mid-1940s, the census bureau reported Wednesday.
The estimates show that population growth in North Carolina has slowed since the beginning of the recession four years ago, but that the state remains among the top gainers.
The state ranked fifth in numerical growth during the 15-month period ending July 1, behind Texas, California, Florida and Georgia. As for the rate of change, North Carolina was the 11th fastest growing state during that time, behind Georgia.
North Carolina has gained more than 1.5 million people since 2000 and remains the 10th most populous state, just behind Georgia and ahead of New Jersey.
A strong economy, combined with a temperate climate and the natural beauty of the mountains and the coast, helped propel North Carolina's population growth over the past two decades, and many of those draws still exist, said Jennifer Song, the state's demographer.
"We're continually listed still in many magazines as one of the top places to come," Song said.
Meanwhile, the state's 10 percent unemployment rate, now higher than in all but four states and the District of Columbia, doesn't tell the whole story of North Carolina's appeal to working people, said Song.
Some parts of the state, and some industries, continue to create jobs in an economy that's weaker in many areas of the nation.
"When a person sits in another state, they may still see strong opportunities in parts of North Carolina," Song said.
Bob Coats, the governor's liaison with the Census Bureau, has another idea: The state's reputation and the promise of its educational system and its growing technology companies may be drawing people regardless of whether they have jobs.
"So when they're migrating, they're bringing their unemployment status with them," Coats said.
The census numbers released Wednesday indicate that a little less than half of the state's growth over the past 15 months was because of births outnumbering deaths, while the rest was the result of immigration from other states and abroad.
The U.S. population increased by 2.8 million during the 15-month period, to 311.6 million, according to the census. Most of that growth came in the South and West, while the Midwest and Northeast grew at a modest pace.
Only three states - Michigan, Rhode Island and Maine, as well as Puerto Rico - lost population during the 15-month period, according to the census. The District of Columbia grew at a faster clip than all the states, 2.7 percent, the first time that has happened since World War II.
