12 / 28 / 2020
Arizona sees population gains as California sees first-ever drop , Census estimates show
Dec 27 , 2020 , 12:00pm MST
Arizona ' s population continues to surge as people move to the state in droves .
According to the U . S . Census Bureau ' s 2020 population estimates , Texas , Florida and Arizona topped the list of states that added the most residents in the past year , while California ' s population took a major hit . Many people are swapping the West Coast
The Phoenix skyline .
for Arizona and Central Texas — a years-long trend that ' s only accelerated during the pandemic .
Arizona gained an estimated 129,558 people between July 1 , 2019 , and July 1 , 2020 , according to the
data released Dec . 22 . That includes both migration and births . At the beginning of July , the state ' s population stood at an estimated 7,421,401 which is up from 7,291,843 a year earlier , or a gain of 1.78 %.
Texas saw the biggest year-over-year population growth in the country , gaining 373,965 people .
On the other hand , California lost an estimated 69,532 residents — the first major , negative population change for the West Coast state since at least 1900 , based on available data , according to a report by
Wendell Cox , principal of St . Louis-based international public policy firm Demographia .
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