NC population growing, but rate is slowing

The state added an estimated 112,820 people in the 12 months ending July 1, which was the fifth-most nationwide. But on a percentage basis, North Carolina ranked 10th nationally, with a 1.1 percent growth rate.

North Carolina's population grew by at least 12 percent each decade from the 1930s to the beginning of the 21st century, and it jumped by 18.5 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the Census Bureau. But since 2010, the state has grown by only 8.9 percent, and if the trend holds for the next two years, this decade would be the slowest population increase for North Carolina in more than a century.

Still, the state continues to rank as the ninth-most-populous state. Its 10,383,620 residents are about 140,000 behind Georgia and about 400,000 ahead of Michigan.

Election Data Services, a Virginia-based consulting company, says North Carolina is in line to pick up a 14th U.S. House seat after the 2020 census because of its sustained growth. That change is likely to intensify the battle for control over the General Assembly in the next election cycle, which carries with it control of the map-drawing process, and the likely legal battles that will result after the new map for congressional voting districts is drawn.

Overall, the U.S. grew by 0.6 percent from July 2017 to July 2018, and the Census Bureau estimates that nearly 327.2 million people lived in the country on July 1.

The natural increase – the number of births minus the number of deaths – was just over 1 million people, and that figure has been declining steadily in recent years, officials said.

"Many states have seen fewer births and more deaths in recent years," Sandra Johnson, a demographer in the Population Division of the Census Bureau, said in a statement. "If those states are not gaining from either domestic or international migration they will experience either low population growth or outright decline."

Nine states, ranging from New York to Wyoming, lost population over the past year.

Nevada and Idaho were the fast-growing states last year, each posting 2.1 percent growth rates, while Texas and Florida recorded the largest increases in the number of residents.