The United States Census Bureau released the 2010 census results for Virginia yesterday. As a state, Virginia grew by more than 900,000 people in the past decade. Cooper Center Demographer Qian Cai, who analyzed census data with UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, says she was most surprised by the explosive growth in Northern Virginia—a 55 percent increase since 2000.
Since 2000, the population of Albemarle County has grown by 14,784 people, a 17.6 percent increase. This increase is due in part to a migration of 10,737 people to the area over the past decade. The county population now totals 98,970. Each racial group showed an increase in its population since the 2008 count.
The findings in Charlottesville city had a few key differences from the county figures. The population of Charlottesville has also grown over the past 10 years, and now totals 43,475 people. This is also partly due to migration, which accounted for 2.7 percent of the growth, but has more to do with natural population growth, which accounted for 5.7 percent of the growth. Most racial groups showed an increase in their numbers since 2008, but some did not. The white and black populations decreased slightly, each group dropping between 100 and 150 from their previous numbers.
These findings follow certain statewide trends, particularly the increase in the Hispanic population. Across Virginia, the Hispanic population has grown by 92 percent in the past decade. Not all locations in Virginia enjoyed the same growth as Albemarle County and Charlottesville; the Southside and Shenandoah Valley showed a decrease in their populations. When asked if these people might be migrating to the Albemarle or Charlottesville area, Cai explained that through the American Community Survey data that information may be available in the future, but not at this time.
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