30 years of US Population Growth
 

Most of us were born around or before 1990. How has the US population shifted in the aftermath of the 'Stranger Things' era? State population changes from 1990 to 2020 are included below grouped by region. To keep the four regions roughly equitable, I counted West Virginia as a Midwestern state and Maryland, Delaware, and DC as Northeastern states.

A couple things jumped out:
* States are resilient. No state, except for West Virginia, flatlined or declined over that time.
* The West is killing it. Goddamn Nevada!
* It's weird seeing California listed on the Slowest Growing side even if it's only compared to other Western states.
* Didn't realize Minnesota was such a growth center


NORTHEAST

1.) Delaware 48.6%
2.) Maryland 29.2%
3.) New Hampshire 24.2%
4.) New Jersey 20.2%
5.) Massachusetts 16.8%
6.) Vermont 14.3%
7.) Washington, DC 13.6%
8.) New York 12.3%
9.) Maine 10.9%
10.) Connecticut 9.7%
11.) Pennsylvania 9.5%
12.) Rhode Island 9.4%


MIDWEST

1.) Minnesota 30.4%
2.) South Dakota 27.4%
3.) Nebraska 24.3%
4.) Indiana 22.4%
5.) North Dakota 22%
6.) Wisconsin 20.5%
7.) Missouri 20.3%
8.) Kansas 18.6%
9.) Iowa 14.9%
10.) Illinois 12.1%
11.) Ohio 8.8%
12.) Michigan 8.4%
13.) West Virginia 0%


SOUTH

1.) Texas 71.6%
2.) Florida 66.5%
3.) Georgia 65.4%
4.) North Carolina 57.5%
5.) South Carolina 46.8%
6.) Tennessee 41.7%
7.) Virginia 39.5%
8.) Arkansas 28.1%
9.) Oklahoma 26%
10.) Alabama 24.7%
11.) Kentucky 22.3%
12.) Mississippi 15.1%
13.) Louisiana 10.4%


WEST

1.) Nevada 158.3%
2.) Arizona 95.1%
3.) Utah 89.9%
4.) Idaho 82.7%
5.) Colorado 75.3%
6.) Washington 58.3%
7.) Oregon 49.1%
8.) New Mexico 39.8%
9.) Montana 35.7%
10.) Alaska 33.3%
11.) California 32.9%
12.) Hawaii 31.3%
13.) Wyoming 27.2%

West Virginia isn't a Midwest state. Part of the state is within the Washington, D.C. CSA.

I only saw about 30 minutes of one episode of Stranger Things a few years ago, so I don't know what it's really about, but it's worth mentioning that back in the 1980s Los Angeles TMZ had a near complete stranglehold on popular culture. Pretty much everything was filmed or recorded there, even if it was set in NYC or the music group was from elsewhere.

That's not the case anymore, and the center of the now semi-dispersed entertainment industry is likely to shift to low-tax Las Vegas. Once that happens, Los Angeles will lose much of its mystique, and it will be very difficult for future generations to understand LA-centered pop culture from the second half of the 20th century.

Why are you showing the slower end growing states in red? Makes it look like a decline when it's not.

LMFAO.. no

one of the weirdest armchair analyses I've seen on this site. :haha:

even Vancouver and Toronto has/will continue to have a much bigger film/TV production industry than... Las Vegas ever will.

Atlanta as well.

The center of the entertainment industry will never be Vegas. Even so, it's arguably not even LA anymore, as many of Hollywood's blockbusters are now filmed in Toronto, Vancouver, Atlanta, New York, London, and even Australia. Despite all the tax breaks, etc. LA is and will likely be the center of (western) pop culture for the rest of my life.

^yep. just like NYC will always be the centre of finance in the USA (among other things). People were writing NYC's epitaph back in the 70s. I was there.

Arguably not la? Combine all the filming of TV, streaming, movies in all those locations and im willing to bet it doesn't match the number in LA

It's hard sometimes for me to reconcile my love for cities with my concern about how much we're fucking the planet up. I'm not sure I'd consider 158% population growth in the desert "killing it". Unless you meant that literally. To me, that's completely irresponsible.

But that's the past. The US has grown 33% over those 30 years. For the next 30 years, it will grow just a bit over 10%.

And where will most of that growth be? Places without water?

Agreed. We need to start concentrating our growth around freshwater sources. The Great Lakes region would be an excellent place. Affordable and better urban bones than much of the Sunbelt too.

Size of the state in 1990 matters too, and California was already a huge state. The West Coast may have been the smallest region in 1990 but I am not sure it is now. Minnesota is not that surprising as it has relatively less manufacturing than other Midwest states, and has a healthy white collar economy centered in Minneapolis/St. Paul. DC may have only grown 14% but it has changed dramatically with formerly run down and even riot torn areas totally gentrified. I'm surprised Louisiana did worse than Mississippi, but that could have been to Katrina.

It's too far into the future to make regional forecasts, but it seems the US regions tend to converge. Buffalo, Pittsburgh metro areas, for instance, grew for the first time in decades when the US was reporting the lowest population growth.

Stranger Things era was early to mid 80's. I was roughly the same age then as those kids depicted in the show.

Here's your list, but without grouping the states by region.

It's equally interesting that way, IMO ;)


1.) Nevada 158.3%
2.) Arizona 95.1%
3.) Utah 89.9%
4.) Idaho 82.7%
5.) Colorado 75.3%
6.) Texas 71.6%
7.) Florida 66.5%
8.) Georgia 65.4%
9.) Washington 58.3%
10.) North Carolina 57.5%
11.) Oregon 49.1%
12.) Delaware 48.6%
13.) South Carolina 46.8%
14.) Tennessee 41.7%
15.) New Mexico 39.8%
16.) Virginia 39.5%
17.) Montana 35.7%
18.) Alaska 33.3%
19.) California 32.9%
20.) Hawaii 31.3%
21.) Minnesota 30.4%
22.) Maryland 29.2%
23.) Arkansas 28.1%
24.) South Dakota 27.4%
25.) Wyoming 27.2%
26.) Oklahoma 26%
27.) Alabama 24.7%
28.) Nebraska 24.3%
29.) New Hampshire 24.2%
30.) Indiana 22.4%
31.) Kentucky 22.3%
32.) North Dakota 22%
33.) Wisconsin 20.5%
34.) Missouri 20.3%
35.) New Jersey 20.2%
36.) Kansas 18.6%
37.) Massachusetts 16.8%
38.) Mississippi 15.1%
39.) Iowa 14.9%
40.) Vermont 14.3%
41.) Washington, DC 13.6%
42.) New York 12.3%
43.) Illinois 12.1%
44.) Maine 10.9%
45.) Louisiana 10.4%
46.) Connecticut 9.7%
47.) Pennsylvania 9.5%
48.) Rhode Island 9.4%
49.) Ohio 8.8%
50.) Michigan 8.4%
51.) West Virginia 0%

What's the deal with Delaware? Retirees?

Yes. Along with remote workers and a handful of super commuters. “Lower” Delaware has lots of open land (for a northeastern state) and has nice beach towns. It’s also low tax and relatively affordable compared to coastal areas of other northeastern states, not to mention the weather is mild. And if you’re a northeastern retiree, you can get all this while still being much closer to “home” than, say, Florida.