Lee Co. booms, U.S. pop. to grow slowly in '07
By Erin Gillespie
egillespie@news-press.com
Originally posted on
December 28, 2006
The United States will grow about 1
percent in 2007 after its population reached the 300-million mark this
year.
That’s the projection of the U.S. Census Bureau, which released next
year’s national population numbers today.
On Jan. 1, there will be 300,888,812 people in the United States, up from
2,863,990 on New Year’s Day 2005.
Over this decade, the country’s growth is expected to be 9.8 percent —
much lower than the 25 percent that Florida is expected to grow and 47
percent projected increase for Lee County.
Here are more tidbits about population growth throughout the county, state
and nation.
UNITED STATES
• The population for 2007 is calculated by one birth every eight seconds,
one death every 11 seconds and one immigrant every 27 seconds. That means
that every 15 seconds, a new person is added to the country.
• The U.S. population should reach 400 million by 2045.
• The population is more concentrated in the South and West, with declines
in the Northeast and Midwest.
• The number of foreign-born people in the United States has reached an
all-time high of more than 35 million. But at 12 percent of the total
population, the share of foreign-born people is lower than it was between
1860 and 1920, when it ranged from 13 percent to 15 percent.
• International migration accounts for about 40 percent of U.S. population
growth.
FLORIDA
• The 2006 Florida population is estimated at 18,089,888.
• According to the Census Bureau, Florida remains the third most populous
state, behind California and Texas.
• Florida gained 321,697 people between July 2005 and July 2006. That was
a larger increase than any state except Texas.
• Florida is projected to have more than 26 million people by 2030.
LEE COUNTY
• The 2006 Lee County population is estimated at 585,608.
• According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business
Research, Lee County will add between 75,000 and 100,000 people every five
years until 2030.
• That means that the county will have added as many people in 25 years as
it did in the 45 years before.
• Between 1960 and 2005, the population growth was about 500,000. It’s
expected to double by 2030, bringing the total population to 1 million.
