DES MOINES (SPECIAL) – New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Iowa’s population increasing by 13,869 residents between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009. The new total population for the state is estimated at 3,007,856, an increase of 0.5 percent over last year.

Beth Henning, coordinator of the State Library of Iowa’s State Data Center program, says not much has changed in Iowa’s population picture this year. “Slow, steady growth has been the defining feature in Iowa’s population for more than a hundred years. The latest estimates are consistent with that pattern.”

Births and international migration are key components in Iowa’s growth. Between 2000 and 2009, Iowa gained 106,396 residents due to natural change (more births than deaths) and 36,329 immigrants from abroad. Together they offset a net loss of 52,205 residents who moved out of Iowa to other states.

Next December the Census Bureau will report the results of the 2010 census. Henning does not expect any surprises, “I think we’ll see a very modest increase in population between the 2000 census and the 2010 census.” She says the crucial factor for getting an increase will be the response rate to the census. She urges all Iowans fill out their census questionnaires this spring and promptly mail them back to the Census Bureau.

Although the state has gained population since the 2000 census, Iowa’s growth rate of 2.8 percent lags behind the U.S. and most other states. Nevada is the fastest growing state, with a 32.3 percent increase since the census. Other states growing by more than twenty percent since 2000 are Arizona, Georgia, and Utah.

Among Iowa’s neighbors, South Dakota has seen the fastest growth with a 7.6 percent increase since 2000, followed by Minnesota and Missouri (7.0 percent), Wisconsin (5.4 percent), Nebraska (5.0 percent), and Illinois (4.0 percent).

The new total population of the United States is 307,006,550, an increase of 9.1 percent since the last full count of residents in the 2000 census.

The latest population estimates, maps, and charts for Iowa and the U.S. can be found on the State Data Center web site at http://www.iowadatacenter.org/. More information about the 2010 census can be found on the State Data Center Web site at http://www.iowadatacenter.org/2010census.

The new population estimates are based on administrative records of births, deaths, movement between states, and international migration. Caution is urged in making year-to-year comparisons of population estimates. When the Census Bureau releases new estimates for the current year it also revised estimates for previous years in the decade. 2009 county population estimates will be released in March 2010; new city estimates are scheduled for release in June 2010.

The State Data Center is part of the State Library of Iowa and is a member of the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Estimates, a cooperative program with the U.S. Census Bureau.