More People Continue To Flee CT, New Census Data Shows

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut was among the 10 states that lost population between 2018 and 2019, according to new U.S. Census data. Overall the U.S. is seeing a slowdown in population growth as the birth rate declines and the death rate increases.

Connecticut’s population dropped by 6,233 people or 0.2 percent, which was tied with fifth along with Louisiana and Mississippi for the largest percent dip. New York saw the biggest overall decrease with 76,790 fewer residents while West Virginia saw the largest percent drop at 0.7.

Several other northeastern states saw population decline and the region overall experienced its first population decrease in a decade.

The northeast’s decline is due to a net domestic migration loss of around 294,000 residents. The region also saw a natural population increase of around 97,000 people and a net international migration increase of around 134,000 people, which helped offset the loss of people moving to other parts of the country.

“While natural increase is the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has been slowing over the last five years,” said Dr. Sandra Johnson, a demographer/statistician in the Population Division of the Census Bureau. “Natural increase, or when the number of births is greater than the number of deaths, dropped below 1 million in 2019 for the first time in decades.”

Related:

• Here’s How Each CT Town’s Population Changes In 2018
• Data Analysis Reveals CT's Changing Population During Past Decade

The U.S. will conduct its once-a-decade census in 2020, which will help give accurate population counts and breakdowns by age, race, income level and other categories. The U.S. Census also plans to release a town-by-town estimate breakdown later this year.

The U.S. saw 0.5 percent growth between 2018 and 2019 with the southern region of the country seeing the biggest increases. The south’s increase comes from both natural population increase (359,114 people) and net domestic migration (407,913), which is the movement of people from one part of the country to another.

The U.S.’s population estimate was 330,222,422 on New Year’s Day, according to the U.S. Census. The population has increased by 21.4 million residents or 6.96 percent since April 1, 2010.

Connecticut’s population between 2010 and 2019 decreased from 3,574,147 to 3,565,287. Some years in between saw minor gains or losses.