Growth-friendly states gain population, and it isn’t just the weather.

U.S. population growth fell to an 80-year low last year amid declining birth rates, a new Census report shows. But it’s also telling that some states are booming while others are suffering a European-style sclerosis of population loss and slow economic growth. One side effect of a strengthening national economy has been a widening disparity in state growth rates. The eight fastest-growing states by population last year were located in the West or South (Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Washington, Colorado and Texas). And what do you know? These states have also experienced rapid employment and GDP growth spurred by low tax rates and policies generally friendly to business and job creation. Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah, Florida and Colorado ranked among the eight states with the fastest job growth this past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nevada, Texas, Washington and Florida have no income tax.

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