Neighbors Grow Faster

In Tuesday’s post I messed up the percentage growth in New Mexico’s population between 2000 and 2010. This has been fixed. New Mexico’s population grew 13.2% for the decade and ranks 36th among the states.
The percentage growth for the decade of our neighboring states is: Arizona, 24.6%; Utah, 23.8%; Texas, 20.6%; and Colorado, 16.9%. Of these states, Utah sort of doesn’t count because that state’s growth from citizens following the Biblical injunction about going forth and multiplying. Utah’s “border” with New Mexico consists of one point at the four corners. Oklahoma, which does have a modest border with New Mexico, grew less fast than New Mexico.

NM Population: Just Released

As of April 1, 2010, the Census Bureau says New Mexico's "resident population" was 2,059,179. The figures were released at 11 a.m. today, Eastern Time, about 90 minutes ago. Ten years ago, our population as 1,855,059. That's an additional 204,120 people in the decade, a 13.2% increase.
Another 8,094 people are considered to be the state's overseas population. The two figures combined to produce the "apportionment population" of 2,067,273.
New Mexico's population was 1,515, 000 in 1990, a 16% hike from 1980. Through 2000, New Mexico;s population added 340, 059 people, a 22% increase, double the growth rate through 2010.
The original estimate for New Mexico's 2009 population was 2,009,671. That estimate was derived from the 2000 census figure and looks to have been on the low side. There's no way the state added nearly 50,000 people in less than a year during a recession. The original 2009 estimate was released in December 2009.