Freddie Mac research showed the population between 2017-2019 grew in the South and the West faster than in the Northeast and Midwest. The population in the South and West grew seven times faster than in the other regions. Freddie Mac said this growth was mainly attributed to net migration in the South and natural increase (more births than deaths) in the West.
“Freddie Mac has a keen interest in understanding not only how recent demographic trends have unfolded, but also how those trends will shape the future of housing demand,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a release. “Our mission to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the nation's housing market can only be accomplished with a strong understanding of the long-term changes that have been taking place with respect to demographics.”
The population growth rate, year-over-year, was 0.81 percent in the South and 0.66 percent in the West. A majority of metropolitan statistical areas had more growth in the suburbs than the cities.
Texas, Florida, and Georgia had the most increases in population in the South, while Arizona, Washington and Nevada accounted for the most growth in the West.
“U.S. population growth has been slowing for decades, but the slowdown has been more pronounced in recent years,” the release stated. “As of 2019, the annual population growth rate was the lowest since 1918, at 0.48 percent. The slowdown in the growth rate was driven by declining natural increase (birth rates contributing 22 percent, death rates contributing 7 percent) and declining net migration (contributing 71 percent). COVID-19 will likely exacerbate this trend in 2020.”