Utah edges Iowa in population, ahead of schedule

I said it was going to happen. I just thought it would take a little longer. According to census estimates, Utah has 5000 people more than Iowa.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Iowa was the 10th-largest state in the country. Twelve decades later, it won’t make the top 30. (If only Amazon would have been interested in creating 25,000 jobs somewhere that desperately wanted them…)

Although it wasn’t the fastest-growing state this time — “only” third, percentage-wise — Utah has the second-highest fertility rate in the country, and even that is at replacement rate.

The main growth in Utah (PDF), like everywhere else in the country, is around an urban area, in this case Salt Lake City and, to a lesser extent, Provo.

Falling into the fourth quintile of population has one more side effect: For the next two Congresses, Iowa won’t be the state with the highest number of people per House district (in multi-member states). Utah also has four seats.

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