West Virginia among States with Highest Numeric Population Decline in 2022

January 3, 2022

Mountaineer News

West Virginia State

West Virginia is among the top 10 states who saw numeric population decline between 2021 and 2022, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

West Virginia’s population declined by 10,370 between July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022 – a total that ranks as the 7th highest population loss in 2022. By percentage decline, West Virginia lost the fourth-highest percentage of population in 2022 at -0.6%.

Between 2010 and 2020, West Virginia saw a population decline of 3.2%, representing a decrease of roughly 59,200 residents, according to Census data. The state’s population has continued to decline since the 2020 Census, dropping from 1.793 million in 2020 to an estimated 1.775 million in 2022.

West Virginia is among the 18 states who saw population decline between 2021 and 2022. Numerically, New York saw the highest decline with a loss of more than 180,000 residents followed by California who lost more than 113,000 residents.

In terms of numeric growth, Texas had the highest increase between 2021 and 2022 at more than 470,700 residents followed by Florida with an increase of more than 416,700 residents.

Nationally, the U.S. saw a 0.4% population increase in 2022, which Census officials say is largely driven by a rebound in international net migration after the pandemic coupled with an increase in total births.