Texas, with no income tax, is the fastest growing state in the U.S.

(The Center Square) – More people moved to, or were born in, Texas last year than in any other state, making it the fastest growing state in the nation.

Texas added the largest number of residents, nearly 374,000 last year on net, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2020 state population estimates.

Florida added the second largest number of residents of 241,000, followed by Arizona’s additional 130,000.

Texas gained an estimated 373,965 people between July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2020, including migration and births.

As of July 1, Texas’ population was 29,360,759, with a 1.3 percent year-over-year rate of growth.

In terms of the largest percentage year-over-year increase, Idaho ranked first with 2.11 percent growth reported between 2019 and 2020.

Over the past year, the South accounted for 85 percent of the nation’s growth, the report found, with roughly one million people relocating to or being born in southern states.

The West saw a population gain of 350,000. The Midwest reported a loss of 20,000; the Northeast lost more than 150,000 residents.

The populations of Arizona, Nevada and Utah grew by 1.4 percent. Texas ranked fifth in terms of year-over-year percentage increase.

Site selectors’ forecasts indicate that Texas and South Florida are the leading states in attracting businesses from California and New York.

Of the 10 states reporting the greatest increases of population, six were from the South; the rest were from the Intermountain West.

California lost 70,000 residents in 2020, the first population loss reported there in more than a century.

Silicon Valley-based companies and California residents moved to tax friendlier states, primarily landing in Texas, where no state and business income taxes provide significant incentives.

Overall, the national population growth rate declined. In 2011, the U.S. population grew by 0.73 percent, which fell to 0.35 percent in 2020. In 2019, the population gain was 0.46 percent.

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