(The Center Square) – More than a half-million people in four years have swelled North Carolina’s population past 11 million, the U.S. Census said in a release on Thursday.
And it’s still growing.
From April 1, 2020, through July 1, 2024, the state’s population increased by 605,000, according to newly released estimates. The rise is from 10.4 million to 11.04 million.
Michael Cline, North Carolina’s state demographer, was not surprised by the numbers,
“It kind of continues what we’re seeing with other data and our estimates as well,” Cline told The Center Square. “We’re one of the fastest growing states in the country.”
The state remains business-friendly, attracting jobs and people, Cline said.
As the Baby Boom generation grows older, many have chosen North Carolina as a retirement destination, he added. Also, younger people who want to live in a state with natural beauty have been moving to the state, he said.
As the overall population in the U.S. ages, states need migration in order to increase in population since natural growth – births – are no longer enough to offset deaths, Cline said. Without new businesses and new people, the economy declines.
“It’s kind of a spiral,” he said. “The young people leave to go to college or the military because there is nothing at home left. Companies won’t locate there because they need a good workforce. The population is aging in place, which affects the tax base. But you still need those services for support.”
North Carolina has a done a good job at attracting people to move to the state, Cline said.
One example is Richmond County, which was able to attract an Amazon data center this year in part because of its available open land, water supply and gas-powered electric powered plant.
“We see a lot more growth in rural areas than what we did in the last decade,” Cline said. “I think there are opportunities.”
There are also migrants nicknamed “halfbacks” who moved from the North to Florida and didn’t like it and are now choosing other Southern states further north, Cline.
Many of those migrants have chosen the North Carolina mountain area as their new homes, he said.
In the North Carolina coastal regions, many of the migrants are from the Northeast or Midwest, Cline said.
“Brunswick County, between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, has been one of the fastest growing counties in the nation for the last decade,” Cline said.
His advice to the state is keep on doing what it has been doing to attract people are businesses to the state.
“For two decades now, two-thirds of our growth was from net migration, the remaining nature increase” Cline said. “So far this decade, it’s about 90% or more from net migration.”
The state’s projections show that by the next decade, net migration will be the only source of growth.
“That’s because there will be be more deaths than births,” Cline said.
