Colorado reported another strong year for population gains, but the pace of growth dipped on slower net migration.
Colorado added 77,059 residents the past year, bringing its total population to just over 5.6 million as of July 1, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and reviewed by the Colorado State Demography Office.
Colorado’s population rose 1.4 percent between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, which was the eighth-fastest growth rate in the country. Idaho, Nevada and Utah were the top three states for their population growth rates.
The total increase, while still robust, lags the nearly 90,000 residents added in the 2016 count and the 98,000 counted after revisions in 2015.
The last time Colorado added around 77,000 new residents was in 2013, said state demographer Elizabeth Garner.
“There is slowing in both the domestic as well as international component with a larger slowing in the domestic migration,” Garner said. Net migration accounted for 69 percent of the state population gain in 2015, but only 63 percent this year.
Of the population gain in Colorado the past year, 46,838 came from net migration and 30,211 from natural increases, or the difference between 67,638 births and 37,427 deaths.
Colorado’s net migration is estimated to include a gain of 36,685 from other states and 9,973 from international sources. Colorado ranks 10th-highest for its rate of net migration, with Idaho and Nevada the top two states.
Since 2010, Colorado’s population has increased by 577,829, the eighth-highest total gain. Its growth rate of 11.6 percent is the sixth-highest in the country.
The U.S. population reached 325.7 million on July 1, but annual growth continued to slow to 2.31 million in 2017, down from the peak of 2.42 million gained in 2015. That decrease reflects fewer births and increasing deaths, as well as slower immigration from other countries, a pattern Colorado is following.
The state’s natural increase has been steady at around 30,000 since 2010, with variations year-to-year linked to changes in domestic and international migration.
Last year, Colorado surpassed Minnesota in population. Colorado remains the 21st-largest state with Wisconsin ranking 20th at just under 5.8 million.
Eight states had population decreases the past year: Illinois, West Virginia, Wyoming, Louisiana, Alaska, Mississippi, Hawaii and North Dakota.
