New Census Numbers Show Americans Are Ditching Blue States for Red States in Droves
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more Americans are giving up life in Democrat-run states and moving their families and businesses to GOP-led states.
A report Tuesday on population and housing unit estimates said blue states such as California, Illinois and New York are losing thousands more residents every year, while red states such as Texas and Florida are growing from this internal migration.
The South has been the big winner in the moving game, according to a Census Bureau news release.
“The expansion of the South — the nation’s most populous region — accounted for 87% of the nation’s growth in 2023, as the region added over 1.4 million residents for a total population of 130,125,290,” the bureau said.
Indeed, not even COVID-19 stopped the burgeoning region.
“The South is the only region to have maintained population growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in 2023 can largely be attributed to the region’s migration patterns as 706,266 people were added via net domestic migration, while net international migration contributed almost 500,000 to the total,” the bureau said.
The Western U.S., excluding the coast, also saw a small expansion of residents, according to the report. The data show 137,299 people were added there this year, a bit fewer than the 157,480 added in 2022.
But the Northeast was hard hit by people fleeing their environs.
“The Northeast’s population declined in 2023, down 43,330, but the loss was considerably smaller than the 216,576 decline in 2022 or the 187,054 decline in 2021, reflecting substantially less outmigration to other regions,” the bureau said.
It said New York and Pennsylvania were the only Northeastern states to lose population this year.
Eight states saw a net loss of population in 2023, and six out of that number were blue states: California (loss of 75,423), Hawaii (4,261), Illinois (32,826), New York (101,984), Oregon (6,021) and Pennsylvania (10,408). Louisiana (loss of 14,274) and West Virginia (3,964) were the only red states to see a population decline.
The Census Bureau noted that these eight states collectively lost 249,161 people in 2023 compared with a loss of 509,789 in 2022. The bureau also said most of these states have been losing population annually since 2020.
So, who is gaining all these lost citizens? Red states, for the most part.
Texas, led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, gained 473,453 people this year. It was followed by Florida (net gain of 365,205), whose governor is GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
Those two states, plus North Carolina and Georgia, accounted for 93 percent of the net growth in 2022 and 67 percent this year.
This all comes at a cost for the states losing their residents.
Not only are they losing billions of dollars in tax revenue from people moving away and taking their incomes with them, but some of the states will lose representation in Congress, too.
Indeed, it was estimated this month that California will lose four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives by 2030, according to the Washington Examiner.
Others that are set to lose seats include Illinois (down two) and New York (one), even as Texas will likely gain four and Florida three.
🚨2030 Apportionment Forecast🚨
+4: TX
+3: FL
+1: AZ, GA, ID, NC, TN, UT-4: CA
-3: NY
-2: IL
-1: MN, OR, PA, RI* Based on the 2023 Census Population Estimates released December 19, 2023. pic.twitter.com/VuekvnsiGG
— The American Redistricting Project (@MappingAmerica) December 19, 2023
In the end, what we are seeing is that these GOP-led areas are finding far more success and growth in what they are doing than the deep blue states.
Decline is a choice, and Democrats have chosen to drive down the quality of life for their citizens. The result: Those citizens are leaving in droves.
Perhaps this explains why blue states are desperate to pump their numbers up with illegal aliens.
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