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Special Report

How West Virginia’s Population Will Change in the Next 20 Years

Photo of Sam Stebbins
By Sam Stebbins Updated Published
How West Virginia’s Population Will Change in the Next 20 Years

© Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

Each year, millions of Americans pack up and move to a new state – either for a job, family reasons, a change of climate, or any number of other reasons. Migration and natural population change resulting from births and deaths can cause significant demographic shifts, which have consequences for local economies and governments.

Negative or slow population growth can lead to weaker economic growth and fewer economic opportunities – which in turn can push more people out of a given state. Population decline can also mean reduced revenue for state governments and limited funding for public works and services and reduced ability to meet budgetary obligations. Here is a look at the states collecting the most in income tax.

According to a study conducted by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, West Virginia’s population is projected to contract by 7.8% between 2020 and 2040 – a decrease of 140,117 people. If the Cooper Center’s projections bear out, West Virginia will go from being the 13th least populous state to being the 12th least populous, also taking into account population changes in other states.

The projected change is in keeping with the trend of the last decade. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of people living in West Virginia fell by 2.8%, or 51,028 people.

A full methodological explanation for how these projections were calculated can be found here.

 

Rank Name Projected 2020 to 2040 pop. change (%) 2020 population 2020 rank 2040 projected population 2040 rank
1 Texas 35.2 29,604,099 2 40,015,913 2
2 North Dakota 34.3 789,403 47 1,060,457 45
3 Utah 34.1 3,240,569 30 4,344,339 29
4 Florida 32.0 21,877,257 3 28,886,983 3
5 Colorado 31.7 5,843,359 20 7,692,907 17
6 Nevada 30.1 3,119,265 32 4,058,371 30
7 Washington 27.3 7,681,818 13 9,776,126 12
8 Arizona 26.1 7,268,694 14 9,166,279 14
9 Idaho 25.4 1,777,249 39 2,227,842 36
10 South Carolina 22.5 5,184,564 23 6,352,502 22
11 Oregon 21.0 4,267,534 27 5,164,041 24
12 North Carolina 19.8 10,568,033 9 12,658,927 7
13 Georgia 19.5 10,725,351 8 12,820,271 5
14 Delaware 17.9 987,393 45 1,164,344 44
15 South Dakota 17.0 891,688 46 1,043,032 47
16 Montana 15.0 1,074,635 43 1,236,304 43
17 California 14.9 40,438,640 1 46,467,001 1
18 Virginia 14.1 8,655,021 12 9,876,728 11
19 Tennessee 14.0 6,861,856 16 7,823,662 15
20 Minnesota 12.0 5,683,666 22 6,364,886 20
21 Nebraska 12.0 1,956,876 37 2,190,918 37
22 Hawaii 11.4 1,453,902 40 1,619,703 40
23 Maryland 11.1 6,161,345 19 6,842,902 19
24 Oklahoma 10.9 4,001,180 28 4,439,038 28
25 Massachusetts 10.9 6,982,092 15 7,742,628 16
26 Alaska 9.1 751,328 48 819,954 48
27 Louisiana 6.7 4,742,900 25 5,062,780 25
28 Iowa 6.5 3,184,240 31 3,392,783 32
29 Arkansas 5.9 3,038,491 33 3,217,535 33
30 Indiana 5.3 6,737,581 17 7,095,000 18
31 Wyoming 5.2 585,380 50 615,787 49
32 Kentucky 4.8 4,498,533 26 4,714,761 27
33 New York 4.2 20,031,150 4 20,873,488 4
34 New Jersey 4.2 9,088,074 11 9,470,012 13
35 Kansas 3.3 2,936,212 35 3,032,653 34
36 Missouri 3.2 6,161,471 18 6,359,970 21
37 New Hampshire 3.0 1,352,917 41 1,393,451 41
38 Alabama 3.0 4,911,278 24 5,056,796 26
39 Wisconsin 2.7 5,837,176 21 5,997,137 23
40 New Mexico 1.3 2,099,134 36 2,127,318 38
41 Ohio 0.4 11,705,262 7 11,751,540 9
42 Pennsylvania -0.3 12,844,885 5 12,809,150 6
43 Michigan -0.3 9,992,315 10 9,960,115 10
44 Rhode Island -0.7 1,062,334 44 1,055,318 46
45 Maine -0.9 1,338,780 42 1,326,159 42
46 Mississippi -0.9 2,990,498 34 2,962,160 35
47 Connecticut -1.4 3,593,542 29 3,542,707 31
48 Illinois -3.1 12,791,188 6 12,397,564 8
49 Vermont -3.4 622,868 49 601,865 50
50 West Virginia -7.8 1,801,966 38 1,661,849 39

 

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Photo of Sam Stebbins
About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at 247WallSt.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.

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