Virginia’s population continues to grow, but at a slower rate than the national average. That’s according to a new report from the University of Virginia.
According to the report from UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Virginia’s population has grown by 6.5% since the 2010 Census.
While that may sound significant, the state’s annual population growth this decade is actually the lowest it has been since the 1920’s.
Hamilton Lombard helped compile the data.
“And one of the factors driving the slowing growth is more people are moving out of Virginia than in. They are going out to a lot of the states south of us, and that’s helping to slow the overall growth.”
Lombard says that Virginia’s death rate has actually increased because of an aging Baby Boomer population and the on-going opioid crisis. Normally that would be offset by an increase in the birth rate among younger populations, but Lombard says millennials just aren’t having as many children as their predecessors.
Despite that, Virginia’s growth rate may bounce back once the effects of federal budget sequestration soften over time.
The University of Virginia is a financial supporter of RADIO IQ.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
