Moving New Englanders: NEBHE Updates T&I Figures on Demography

NEBHE’s Trends & Indicators features an updated section on Demography.

• Nearly 70% of New England residents in 2010 were born in the region, down from a peak of 77% in 1950. By 2010, nearly 17% of New England’s population was born elsewhere in the U.S. People born in foreign countries accounted for the remaining 14% of total population.

• Connecticut ranked first nationally for “outbound” moves in 2013, according to the latest data from Atlas Van Lines. While more than 1,200 residents moved out of the state, just 825 people moved in, the study found. Other New England states were generally balanced, except New Hampshire, which continued to show a net gain.

• College enrollment at the seven University of Maine campuses dropped by more than 6% since fall 2009, thanks to the shrinking number of Maine high school graduates. The Maine Children’s Alliance’s KIDS COUNT reports that in 2011 (the most recent data available), more than 19% of all Maine children under age 18 were living in poverty—an increase from 18% in 2010. Childhood poverty varied widely across Maine’s 16 counties, from under 14% in York County to over 31% in Washington County.

• The population of Massachusetts grew by 0.72% between summer of 2012 and the summer of 2013. But over the past 12 years—including years when the job market was strong—Massachusetts lost a net 213,000 residents to other states, according to MASS.migration, a report by MassINC and the UMass Donahue Institute. The researchers suggest that Massachusetts attracts “young, unmarried, highly educated professionals and managers who work in the knowledge economy.”

• New Hampshire added more than 80,o00 residents between 2000 and 2010—the only state in the Northeast to grow. But its rate of growth has slowed, especially since the Great Recession, rising just 0.5% over the past three years, compared with a national increase of 2.2%.

• Rhode Island’s total population is expected to grow by a paltry 0.1% from 2012 to 2017, according to University of Rhode Island professor Edward M. Mazze. The fastest-growing group will be those age 65 and older. He said net out-migration will continue for people with college degrees are looking for better opportunities in other states.

• Vermont has ranked near the bottom of all U.S. states in various measures of foreign-born population. But you wouldn’t know that from a visit to the Burlington area, now home to thousands of Bosnians, Bhutanese, Nepalis, Somalis and Sudanese. The arrival of these new populations—and the historical attraction of Vermont colleges to out-of-state students—are blessings in a state where the median age is 42, about the same as New Hampshire and older than all other states except Maine.

 


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