U.S. Population Migrates From Coasts for ‘Gigantic’ Income Boost

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

New York, California and other high- cost U.S. states may lose residents as the economy recovers, continuing a trend during the past decade of Americans searching for more affordable regions to settle.

The U.S. population climbed 9.7 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to Census Bureau data. Five states -- Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Idaho -- grew at more than twice the national pace, as California, the most-populous, had its smallest increase ever, the data show.

The Northeast states of New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are among those that had population increases of less than half the average. Though migration has slowed, the effects of the economic downturn may rekindle movements away from high-priced areas, said Joel Kotkin, author of “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050,” a book about demographics.

The struggles of Blue America.