MA Population Increases, But Thousands Leaving

MASSACHUSETTS — Although tens of thousands of Bay Staters are moving to other parts of the country, Massachusetts saw a population increase between 2018 and 2019, according to new U.S. Census data. Massachusetts' population increased by 9,868 people between 2018 and 2019, buoyed by strong migration from overseas and an excess of births over deaths. Nationally, with fewer births in recent years and the number of deaths increasing, natural increase has declined steadily over the past decade.

"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."

Within the same year, 30,274 people left the state for another part of the country, making Massachusetts one of six states that lost over 25,000 people to domestic migration. The Northeast as a whole is experiencing a population decline due to a net domestic migration loss of around 294,000 residents.

Massachusetts was ranked the fourth most-expensive state to live in by CNBC, with an average home price of $663,942.

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. The population has increased by 21.4 million residents or 6.96 percent since April 1, 2010.

Massachusetts' population increased by 344,718 from 2010 to 2019. New births and international migration over the decade offset the 158,778 people who moved to other parts of the U.S.