Texas adds to population but growth rate slowing down

U.S. Census figures show Texas added more people to its population than any other state during the past year.

But the Austin American-Statesman reports Texas’ growth rate has slowed down.

Texas added 379,128 people from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, a growth of 1.3 percent. The state’s population is nearly 29 million.

In 2017, the population grew by 1.4 percent. In 2016 it grew by 1.6 percent and in 2015, it grew by 1.8 percent.

Lila Valencia, a senior demographer with the Texas Demographic Center, says there were slightly fewer births in 2018 compared to 2017 and the impact from Hurricane Harvey could have also made people move away or delayed births.

Nevada and Idaho tied for having the fastest growth rates at 2.1 percent.