Americans Continue Migration to South and West

Whatever it is Americans like about the South and West, it continues to draw them there in growing numbers; as Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston realized the largest population growth between 2006 and 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dallas-Fort Worth had the largest net one-year population gain of any metropolitan area, increasing by 162,250, as of July 1, 2007. Atlanta (151,063), Phoenix (132,513) and Houston (120,544) rounded out the metro areas with gains of at least 100,000 residents.

Overall, 47 of the 50 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation were in the South and West -- 27 in the South and 20 in the West.

For whatever it might be worth, 7 of the 9 U.S. states that still have no state income tax are Southern and Western states -- Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.

As of March 29, 2008, the Census Bureau's Population Clocks estimated the total U.S. population to be 303,736,651, with the total world population estimated at 6,657,986,471.

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