After a generation, the Sun Belt’s population boom may be ending, new Census data suggest. Over the year ending July 1, more people left Florida than moved there for the first time in some 30 years; after 23 years in the top four fastest-growing states, Nevada fell to eighth place, USA Today reports. Were a Congressional reallocation held today, eight states would lose a House seat.
Meanwhile, five states would gain a seat, and Texas would gain three. Michigan lost population for the fourth year in a row; births and immigration made Utah the fastest-growing state. At the center of the changing trends is the housing market, says an analyst. “One, you can't sell a house. You're stuck. Two, there's no job growth attracting people to those states.”
(More Sun Belt stories.)