West Virginia saw nearly 9K more deaths than births over last year: Census

(The Center Square) – West Virginia saw 8,666 more deaths than births in the year ending July 1, with only Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico have a larger natural population loss according to new data was the U.S. Census.

West Virginia’s natural population loss was less than the prior two years, which were 12,906 and 10,557, respectively.

Births have remained steady in the state with just more than 17,000 annually over the past three years while West Virginia saw 25,929 deaths in the year ending July 1.

Overall, West Virginia was down 3,964 in the 2023 numbers as it now has 1,770,071 estimated residents, a 0.2% dip which ranked it ahead of just New York (0.5% loss), Puerto Rico, Louisiana, Hawaii and Illinois in population losses.

West Virginia falls in the middle of the pack in net domestic migration for the three years ending in July, ranking 25th as it added 6,074 residents domestically.

The 26th ranked state, New Mexico, lost 6,088 residents to domestic migration over that span while Florida was tops gaining 818,762 and California lost the most with a drop of 1,197,950.

West Virginia saw 1,101 new residents from international spots in 2023 along with a 3,595 increase due to domestic migration.