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Fastest Growing U.S. States Since 1960

Can you guess the states that recorded the highest percentage population growth between 1960 and 2023?
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Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 23, 2023
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First submittedSeptember 13, 2016
Times taken60,185
Average score70.0%
Rating4.44
1:30
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Increase
State
1,020 %
Nevada
471 %
Arizona
357 %
Florida
284 %
Utah
235 %
Colorado
Increase
State
224 %
Alaska
218 %
Texas
194 %
Idaho
180 %
Georgia
174 %
Washington
+24
Level ∞
Sep 13, 2016
49 of the 50 states have gained population since 1960. West Virginia is the only state to have decreased.
+14
Level 43
Dec 6, 2016
So THAT'S why I remembered West Virginia as being something related. And tried it :(
+1
Level 46
Mar 10, 2018
+ JBlouw1850, I feel the same.
+5
Level 59
May 23, 2018
Even Michigan did increase after the Detroit depopulation?
+4
Level 86
Aug 26, 2018
Michigan's pop decreased in the short term, but it's still higher than it was in 1960.
+26
Level 70
Nov 27, 2018
Detroit's depopulation was largely just flight to the suburbs, which wouldn't have affected the state's population as a whole too much.
+1
Level 54
May 10, 2022
I thought New york decreased too
+2
Level 54
May 10, 2022
wait nvm
+11
Level 65
Sep 13, 2016
Wow, taking all of these quizzes at once makes it confusing at to which answers you have and have not guessed!
+23
Level 58
Nov 8, 2016
Everyone I know is trying to get out of California, lol.
+98
Level 71
Dec 6, 2016
Maybe it's something to do with you?
+40
Level 73
Jan 6, 2017
Savage
+4
Level 89
May 8, 2020
Apparently the biggest reason is the rising housing costs.
+8
Level 37
May 11, 2020
And they're being sent here in Oregon. Get out
+2
Level 58
Mar 3, 2022
and Texas... consider AyBrains feelings reciprocated.
+1
Level 50
Jan 26, 2024
How about we look at the number of oregon residents who moved to California from 1960-2010.
+2
Level 65
Dec 6, 2016
love it
+5
Level 66
Jan 6, 2017
One thing I knew for sure is that Illinois would not be on this list. Every week or so it seems to be on the news about how many people are leaving Illinois (and rightly so, given how badly our government mismanages its finances).
+26
Level ∞
May 19, 2018
The last person in Chicago will be stuck paying the pensions and health care costs of all the retired public employees.
+24
Level 62
May 19, 2018
...Until he runs for governor and then goes to prison.
+1
Level 59
Sep 17, 2020
im moving to chicago in a few years...
+5
Level 43
Jul 12, 2019
Our government sucks. Corruption and just plain bad policy and budgeting.
+1
Level 45
May 11, 2020
Isnt Illinois on the brink of bankruptcy?
+2
Level 67
May 13, 2020
Always, but things have improved under the current governor from "catastrophic" to "really terrible."
+1
Level 70
Jan 27, 2022
Maybe if all Illinois public employees decided to retire at one time. Each time anything like this is reported in the news, everyone becomes Chicken Little. The unfunded liabilities are spread out over 40-50 years and thousands will never live long enough to collect more than they put in (law of averages). Another example is the USPS and all the reports that they are billions in the hole due to the infamous "unfunded liabilities". More smoke and mirrors. Congress mandated they set aside 75 years worth of premiums for retiree's health care insurance and do it in 10 years. This is for future retirees, many who haven't even been born. They were unable to pay after about 5 or 6 years but it still shows up on the accounting ledger as an expense. They don't show the $42 billion already on the books that they did pay.
+1
Level 85
Jan 28, 2022
1/3 of all state revenues go to pay for pensions and health care for retired state employees. That's not normal. Think about how much of your taxes are sent from you to Springfield to retirees in Florida and Arizona, propping up those states' economies. I mean, as a Floridian, I'd love for you to keep subsidizing my low taxes. But you guys might want to address that soon.
+2
Level 67
Jan 6, 2017
I'm Australian. How did I get 10/10 with 46 seconds to spare?
+13
Level 82
Jan 6, 2017
You type fast?
+9
Level 48
Nov 28, 2018
luck of the Irish? :)
+8
Level 33
Jul 11, 2019
Prisoner's luck
+2
Level 53
Jan 7, 2017
Haha! I thought the population of California would decrease after I moved.
+15
Level 56
Nov 27, 2018
To California, or away? Quite different self-assessments.
+4
Level 75
May 8, 2020
It decreased by one. But apparently more took your place.
+5
Level 22
Jan 14, 2017
So pretty much all red states save California and Washington...
+8
Level 60
Jan 16, 2017
...and Nevada and Florida and Colorado.
+4
Level 66
Jan 16, 2017
Florida flip-flops too much to consider it a "true" blue state though.
+3
Level 41
Jun 6, 2020
I consider Florida a Purple state. North Florida has conservatives, South Florida has Liberals, and Central Florida is a battle ground region.
+1
Level 71
Jan 24, 2024
Florida had become a pretty consistently Republican state--Republicans always win, even if it is only by a small margin. There still hasn't been the seismic demographic shift to turn Florida blue that people have been expecting for decades. Nevada and Georgia are also swing states now.
+2
Level 69
Feb 25, 2017
Oh, hey, no... Colorado has been decidedly blue for quite sometime.
+4
Level 64
Nov 29, 2018
And those states are turning blue and purple now, so what does that tell you?
+10
Level 85
May 8, 2020
That democrats are a roving horde of bandits that drive states into the ground and then leave? :)
+1
Level 51
May 18, 2021
Democrats move...
+1
Level 62
Jan 8, 2022
It's been well documented that "social experiments" have been tried where they move to a red state for the election, vote, and then move. It happened in Colorado, Virginia, and Texas in the last 10 years.
+7
Level 88
Jan 27, 2022
Well-documented? Not enough for you to link to any sources, apparently. Seems like nonsense conservative propaganda to me. Not many people have the resources to move states every few years, and those that do likely move for work, not to vote in specific elections.
+7
Level 67
May 8, 2020
Only 6 of these states are red. And given that red states generally have lower populations, it's easier for their numbers to jump as a percentage. For example, Calfornia's 149% increase means that 15 million people have moved there since 1960. Alaska's 266% increase means that 456,000 people have moved there. Arizona's 452% increase means that about 5.6 million people moved there.
+2
Level 68
May 8, 2020
I thought the opposite, was surprised at the relatively even split
+2
Level 74
Jan 27, 2022
I knew someone would make this argument... no. You don't get to say "SEE SEE RED STATES BETTER" and then ignore Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi etc. Red states that are terribly governed, are net recipients of federal funding, are horrifically unequal, and have awful outcomes in health and education.
+1
Level 46
Jan 30, 2023
Only 5 of these states can be considered red states now! Beat that!
+7
Level 62
Apr 21, 2017
Mormons, illegal aliens, and retirees can explain most of these.
+1
Level 22
Jan 27, 2022
Funny but true
+4
Level 75
May 21, 2018
People are taking Go west, young man to heart.
+16
Level 84
May 22, 2018
Two words: Air Conditioning!
+3
Level 71
Nov 27, 2018
Is there a reason this is 11 states instead of ten?
+4
Level 67
Nov 27, 2018
So the 11th state is given credit.
+5
Level 80
Nov 27, 2018
I would expect North Dakota to be on here, given the oil-related booms there in recent years.
+5
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
It actually wavered between decreasing and barely increasing for decades.
+6
Level 77
Nov 28, 2018
I live in Raleigh, NC. Last stat I heard is that 66 people move here a day on average. I was surprised that NC was not on this list.
+3
Level 74
Dec 10, 2018
Me too.
+3
Level 92
Feb 14, 2019
Since this quiz is about population growth over a 57-year period, the current move-in statistics are probably inconsequential to the rankings.
+4
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
It's 2.28 times what it was in 1960 and the cutoff is 2.49. Close.
+3
Level 59
Dec 11, 2019
I'm from nearby. People are leaving Raleigh for other places.
+1
Level 49
Feb 12, 2020
I live in NC, too. I am pretty sure North Carolina is 10th place.
+2
Level 75
Jan 23, 2020
Why top 11?
+1
Level 77
May 8, 2020
As an Idahoan, I'm offended that it's the least guessed answer. What the hell, guys? ;)
+1
Level 82
May 8, 2020
I got all the answers but in retrospect I'm not even sure why I guessed Idaho. Why is Idaho growing so fast?
+3
Level 67
May 8, 2020
My best guess would be that Idaho has both a low population (so it's easier for the percentage change to be significant) and the beautiful nature is attracting a lot of millennials. People I know have generally wanted to move to Portland, Denver, Nashville, or Austin, which are hip cities in climates that accommodate outdoor adventures. Those cities (based on anecdotal evidence from people I know who've considered moving there) seem to be hitting the point of capacity for young people moving in, so they're getting more expensive. Boise is growing fast and is still probably pretty cheap, so it is a logical next choice on that list. And of course, because this is America, billionaires are buying up a lot of Idaho's pristine land for themselves. So it seems lots of people have their eyes on Idaho now.
+3
Level 88
May 8, 2020
The relatively high number of Mormons and Evangelical Christians in the state might also account for some of the growth.
+4
Level 60
May 8, 2020
Fun fact: In 1960, the population of California and New York was the same (17 mil). Over these 60 years, the population of New York barely changed (19 mil) whereas California rocketed to 40 million.
+1
Level 34
May 8, 2020
Yes! My home state is on here.
+1
Level 82
May 10, 2020
I know when I was growing up I heard that Northern Virginia was the fastest growing area in the country many times. But the rest of the state aside from Virginia Beach is pretty stagnant.
+1
Level 41
May 21, 2020
huh. would have never guessed Alaska. I was trying to think of the most populous states and where those people might move to. That's the only reason I got Georgia.
+1
Level 41
Jun 4, 2020
Where is the source for this quiz? I'm planning to make this quiz, but have it east of the Mississippi River.
+1
Level 42
Aug 5, 2020
Did them all second try. 50 seconds left
+1
Level 67
Jan 27, 2022
Wow didn't expect Nevada to be that high
+1
Level 16
Nov 2, 2022
As a Canadian after I picked Texas I tried it’s neighbours and also Wyoming and for some reason New York