Alabama’s Population Gain Slows in 1999

July 26th, 2019

Alabama added 18,825 new residents between July 1, 1998 and July 1, 1999, according to estimates released by the Census Bureau. This compared to about 30,750 new residents gained between 1997 and 1998. Alabama’s 1999 population of 4,369,862 was 0.4 percent higher than the revised 1998 total of 4,351,037. Alabama gained 1,590 residents due to net international migration between 1998 and 1999. However, for the first time in the 1990s, Alabama showed a net loss of residents to other states. The Census Bureau estimates that just over 600 more people moved out of Alabama to other states than moved in. This is counter to a trend that saw more than 9,000 people move into Alabama from other states annually between 1990 and 1998.

From the 1990 census through July 1, 1999, the state’s population increase totaled 329,473, an 8.2 percent gain that ranks the state twenty-fourth in population growth for the 1990s. Alabama was the twenty-third most populous state in 1999. For the period April 1, 1990 to July 1, 1999, Alabama ranked thirteenth in net domestic migration and thirty-ninth on net international migration.

Overall, the nation’s population rose 0.9 percent from 1998 to 1999 to total 272,690,813. Led by Nevada’s population gain of 3.8 percent and Arizona’s 2.4 percent increase, the West was the fastest growing region in the country with an average gain of 1.5 percent. California showed the largest numerical increase of any state with 462,327 new residents, representing a 1.4 percent increase. At 1.2 percent, the South ranked second in overall regional growth. Georgia led the South with a population increase of 2.0 percent. Texas posted a 1.7 percent increase, while Florida and North Carolina each gained 1.4 percent. Population growth in the nation’s Midwest averaged 0.5 percent, while the Northeast saw a 0.3 percent gain. Pennsylvania’s population was down 8,313, the largest numerical loss of any state.

Three tables detailing state population growth are available in Population Estimates and Projections Data under Data. These include annual state populations for April 1, 1990 through July 1, 1999, estimates and components of change for the period 1990 to 1999, and rankings based on change from 1990 to 1999.