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Domestic Net Migration to Metro Atlanta slowed in the 2000s from 58k annually to 31k, while it increased in Metro Phoenix from 42k to 48k annually.
State-wide much higher domestic net migration to NV and AZ than NC and GA. With AZ having 66k a year, NV 51k, GA 41K, NC 39K, even though GA and NC are bigger, so much faster rate of migration into AZ and NV. TX is bigger than all of them, but with just 36k domestic net migrants, most of its growth is coming from immigrants.
FL is the big winner with 190k net domestics, but because it's larger it's rate per 100 pop. is smaller than NV and AZ.
Clearly, trend is heavily in favor of SW, not the SE.
So how many "gateways to the west" are there? I know of three others: Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Omaha. FWIW.
Good case can be made that Kansas City is, or at least was, truly the gateway, because it was the primary transfer point from river to land for many western settlers, and with the Oregon, Cali, Santa Fe, and Lewis & Clark running through town, only point with four major trails.
Domestic Net Migration to Metro Atlanta slowed in the 2000s from 58k annually to 31k, while it increased in Metro Phoenix from 42k to 48k annually.
State-wide much higher domestic net migration to NV and AZ than NC and GA. With AZ having 66k a year, NV 51k, GA 41K, NC 39K, even though GA and NC are bigger, so much faster rate of migration into AZ and NV. TX is bigger than all of them, but with just 36k domestic net migrants, most of its growth is coming from immigrants.
FL is the big winner with 190k net domestics, but because it's larger it's rate per 100 pop. is smaller than NV and AZ.
Clearly, trend is heavily in favor of SW, not the SE.
I'd actually say that percentages matter just as much as the raw numbers, in terms of showing a whole story.
I took official census data to get these approximate numbers:
Growth from 2000 to 2006 in sample cities:
Phoenix Metro: 24%
Las Vegas Metro: 29%
Atlanta Metro: 21%
Raleigh Metro: 25%
Austin Metro: 21%
Growth from 2005 to 2006 in sample cities:
Phoenix Metro: 4.2%
Las Vegas Metro: 4.0%
Atlanta Metro: 3.1%
Raleigh Metro: 4.9%
Austin Metro: 3.9%
I wouldn't say that the south is far behind the southwest at all. They're actually very close in growth rates.
So how many "gateways to the west" are there? I know of three others: Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Omaha. FWIW.
Most of the southwest and mountain west are fairly conservative as well.
The gateway to the real west in my opinion is Denver. Everything to the East of that is the "midwest" but should be called just the mid. St. Louis is so far from anywhere I consider the west its a joke. Pittsburgh? That's the East. Omaha is garbage.
Pittsburgh may be the east (though they don't think so in NYC), but it calls itself the gateway to the West, not the west. Just west of Pittsburgh is Ohio, which was once part of the "Western Reserve". Omaha is not garbage. DH is from there, also Gayle Sayers (sp?), Warren Buffet, Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, and many more.
I wouldn't say that the south is far behind the southwest at all. They're actually very close in growth rates.
Good data in your post, but the gap widens if you look at state-level, not metro-level data. AZ was up 20% 2000-2006, Georgia just 14%. NC just 10%.
Part of it is a slightly bigger base, but the SW doesn't have declining or flat rural areas like the SE. Atlanta and Charlotte are growing rapidly, but Macon and Goldsboro aren't. Also, 80% of AZ lives in the Phoenix or Tucson metro area, and almost 90% of NV lives in the Vegas or Reno areas.
With its older industrial and rural towns too insignificant to pull down its growth rate, SW is likely to continue to increase pop. at a faster rate than the SE.
The gateway to the real west in my opinion is Denver. Everything to the East of that is the "midwest" but should be called just the mid. St. Louis is so far from anywhere I consider the west its a joke. Pittsburgh? That's the East. Omaha is garbage.
I t is this kind of attitude that is the reason the Southeast will overtake the Southwest. You know uninformed and insecure! Who would want to be around someone with this kind of attitude about everywhere that is not California. Hate to break it to you, but California will always suck because of the people no matter how majestic the mtns are there!
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