Texas Now Leads U.S. In Population Growth, Census Data Shows

More people are moving to Texas more than ever. So much so, that the Lone Star State is now ranked No. 1 in the United States for the number of residents added in the past year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released last week.

Data shows the population of Texas grew 1.1% between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, according to CultureMap Houston. Texas' population went from 29,217,653 to 29,527,941 in that time period, adding 310,288 residents in the past year. That number takes into account births, deaths and people moving to and out of Texas.

According to The Texas Tribune, people of color make up 91% of new Texas residents.

Data shows that Texas is on pace to reach a population of 30 million in 2022. But state demographer Lloyd Potter says other factors are in play.

“However, our rate of growth has slowed noticeably between 2020 and 2021, with lower fertility, higher mortality, and less international migration. If we add the same number of people estimated to have been added between 2020 and 2021, then it looks like we’ll come up a bit short of 30 million in 2022,” Potter told CultureMap Houston.

In terms of total population, Texas is No. 2 behind California, with a population of 39,237,836.

Population growth across the board has slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Census demographer Kristie Wilder said.

Here's a look at the top 10 states for numeric population growth from 2020 to 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Arizona
4. North Carolina
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Utah
8. Tennessee
9. Idaho
10. Nevada

You can see all the newly released Census data here.