The Silver State's population grew 3.6 percent to 2.2 million people.

Arizona's population grew almost as quickly, rising by 2.8 percent, followed by Florida (2.1 percent), Texas (1.9 percent) and Georgia (1.8 percent), the government also reported.

The latest tabulation marks the first time on the Top Five list for Texas, which has replaced Colorado, said Census Bureau demographer Melissa Therrien. Overall, America's population grew by 1.1 percent during the period, or 3.1 million people, to a total of 288.4 million.

The top five accounted for more than a third of the nation's population growth. More than half of the country's people now reside in just 10 states.

California remains the most populous state with 35.1 million people in 2002. That represents 12.2 percent of the U.S. total. The second and third most populous states -- Texas (21.8 million) and New York (19.2 million) -- together now account for 14.2 percent of the country's population.

Between July 1, 2001 and July 1, 2002, only the District of Columbia and North Dakota experienced population declines. But the declines were at a slower rate than in recent years. The number of people residing in the Nation's Capital fell by 0.5 percent to about 571,000, the bureau reported. North Dakota's total declined by 0.4 percent to about 634,000. residents.

Regionally, the 10 most populous states are pretty well divided: Three are located in the Northeast, three in the Midwest, three in South and one in the West. But the West has seven of the10 fastest growing states, and the South has the other three.

Together, the 10 fastest growers accounted for 59 percent of the country's population growth. The South had the largest numerical population increase among regions since July 1, 2001 (1.4 million), while the West recorded the fastest rate of growth (1.6 percent).

The Census Bureau also reported that over the 15 months between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2001, the number of housing units nationally increased by 1.9 million to 117.8 million.

Texas had the largest numeric gain among the states, nearly 200,000, according to 2001 housing unit estimates. And Douglas County, Colo., outside Denver, recorded the most rapid growth in housing units of any county in the country, at 12.4 percent.

Other counties experiencing double-digit growth were Loudoun County, Va., near Washington, D.C.; four counties in the Atlanta area (Paulding, Henry, Forsyth and Newton); and Williamson County, Texas, north of Austin.

The South had both the largest numerical and percentage gains in housing units among te four regions, followed by the West.

Published: December 26, 2002

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