by Mary Stroka
Minnesota’s population grew less than a single percentage point from July 2021 to July 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month.
Minnesota’s population grew 0.1% in 2022, .03% in 2021 and .06% in 2020. The North Star State is the 22nd most populous state. The estimate for July 2022 was 5,717,184, up from an estimate of 5,711,471 the previous year. The 2020 U.S. Census indicated Minnesota’s population was 5,706,504.
The nation’s population increased 0.38% in 2022, which was more than both the .16% increase seen in 2021 and the .02% increase of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, it gained 5,713 people. In 2021, the state gained 1,619. In 2020, it gained 3,348.
There were 11,617 more births than deaths for 2022. From April 2020 to July 2022, the state had 26,917 more births than deaths. In 2022, the state had the 26th highest natural growth and the 30th highest net population change.
The state’s typical annual growth, however, is about 35,000, according to Susan Brower, Minnesota’s state demographer, Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
The Midwest, with a population of 68,787,595, lost 48,910 (-0.1%) residents, due to negative net domestic migration, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. The South was the fastest-growing region last year, with an increase of 1.1%. The West saw an annual increase of 0.2% for a total resident population of 78,743,364, even though it lost 233,150 residents via net domestic migration.
All states saw positive net international migration. Minnesota’s was 14,194. But with 19,400 individuals leaving for other states, the state saw a net 5,206 migrations away from the area.
Minnesota State Demographic Center reported in 2015 that between 1991 and 2001, Minnesota gained more residents from other states than it lost to other states and that since 2001 – that’s now flipped. Center of the American Experiment Economist John Phelan wrote in an article Friday that the 19,400 departures were the highest number Minnesota has seen for at least 30 years. Only 2017 and 2018 saw positive net domestic migration.
Minnesota has the sixth worst business tax climate in the country, Tax Foundation reported in October. New Jersey, which had the worst business tax climate, had a population loss of 6,262. California, which had the second worst business tax climate, lost 113,649 in population.
Among the states with the top 10 business tax climates – Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Utah, Indiana and North Carolina – all but Alaska had both population growth and more new residents from other states than residents who left. Of the states with the 10 worst business tax climates – New Jersey, New York, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Alabama – only Alabama and Vermont had more new residents who had moved from other states than the residents who left them. Like Minnesota, Connecticut had negative domestic migration, but it still experienced population growth.
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Mark Stroka is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Moving Truck” by HireAHelper. CC BY 2.0.
