Answer: Utah, Idaho, Texas, North Dakota, Nevada

Questions:

• What do you think are the factors that drive population growth in states?
• What impact does population growth have on economic activity in a state? 
• Is there a pattern that you see in terms of what region of the country seems to be experiencing the most growth? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Brookings):

At the high end for growth rates from 2010 to 2020 are several western states, along with Texas, Florida, and North Dakota. Among these are Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona—states which also saw high growth in the two prior decades. Of this group, Nevada showed the biggest growth slowdown (from 66% in 1990 to 2010 to 15% in 2010 to 2020), reflecting the early-decade housing crunch resulting from the Great Recession.

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Want to see how your state fared when it came to population growth? Here's a spreadsheet showing state-by-state figures. 

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Listen to this 3 minute podcast to learn about the economic headwinds from slower population growth (Marketplace)

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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