Mississippi is shrinking, Census Bureau predicts; Louisiana is worse
Published 8:28 am Saturday, December 22, 2018
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported recently that Mississippi's population has shrunk by more than 3,000 residents in just the last year.
JACKSON (AP) — The Census Bureau says Mississippi joined eight other states and Puerto Rico in losing population from July 2017 to July 2018.
A report released Wednesday estimates that Mississippi, with a population of nearly 3 million, was down by 3,122 residents.
Puerto Rico was hit hard by Hurricane Maria in September 2017 and lost 129,848 people during the year ending this July.
The states with the largest decline in population were in New York, down 48,510; Illinois, down 45,116; West Virginia, down 11,216; and Louisiana, down 10,840.
Other states losing population were Hawaii, down 3,712 residents; Alaska, down 2,348; Connecticut, down 1,215; and Wyoming, down 1,197.
All numbers are estimates from the Census Bureau.
