Forecast: Sunbelt population will continue its surge for years to come

McClatchy reports:

New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the country’s population will stand at 324.31 million on Sunday, the first day of 2017. That’s a 2.25 million gain over a year ago.

That increase is part of a long-term rise that demographers say will see the United States reach 360.83 million people by 2030 – a gain of 16.87 percent from its 2010 level of 308.75 million, the last time the Census Bureau did a nationwide count.

The 28-nation European Union, by contrast, is projected to grow by just 4.09 percent over the same period, according to Eurostat, its official demographics agency.

The figure includes the population of Great Britain, whose residents voted in June to leave the EU, but where the Parliament still must pass legislation for that to happen.

The Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service released projections in May for coming population changes in the United States and its 50 states.

That data shows Florida with 25 million residents by 2030, which would be an increase of 33 percent over its 2010 population of 18.8 million.

Predictions.