Charleston Gazette – West Virginia is losing population faster than any other state in the country, according to newly released U.S. Census figures. Read
West Virginia lost nearly 3,300 residents last year, the Census Bureau said. That amounts to about 0.2 percent of the Mountain State’s 2013 population.
While that might not sound like a lot, it’s the largest drop, accounting for population, of any state in the nation.
Only five other states — Vermont, New Mexico, Illinois, Connecticut and Alaska — lost population last year, according to the Census, which estimated changes between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014. Illinois lost about three times as many people as West Virginia, but its population is seven times larger, so it is losing people at a much slower rate.
