Arizona, Nevada and the West are the fastest growing
Arizona grew by 3.6 percent last year and Nevada grew by 3.5 percent. And the West outstripped every other region in growth, including the South which had half of the top ten largest gainers, but also the largest loser, Louisiana.
The Baltimore Sun also notes the topsy-turvy nature of Arizona politics that is beginning to favor Democrats:
Long a Republican stronghold, Arizona now has a moderate Democrat as its governor. Democrats picked up two congressional seats in last month's midterm election, and voters rejected a ballot initiative banning gay marriage.Arizonans are used to a certain amount of political turmoil caused by the constant influx of new residents, said Marshall Vest, an economist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
"Whenever you have a vote on any particular issue, you never know what it's going to be," because a large chunk of the electorate has just arrived, he said.
Emmett O'Connell | December 22, 2006 | Comment on This Post (1 so far) |
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And where are those new Arizonans coming from? It used to be from the Midwest. Now it is from California and, of course, Mexico. In 2005, 117,500 people traded a California driver’s license for an Arizona one. Illinois was a distant second with 23,200, followed by Texas with 22,800. Californians can cash out of their expensive housing and find something more affordable in Arizona while not abandoning a warm climate.
The Census Bureau projects Arizona’s Hispanic population to double between 2000 and 2025, from one million (22% of the population) to two million (32% of the population). Nationwide the Hispanic percentages will grow from 11% to 20%. While this may cause some tensions, it is back to the future for Tucson. In 1900 Tucson’s Anglo and Hispanic populations were about equal in size, although much smaller than today’s numbers. In the coming century Tucson will increasingly trend back to its bicultural roots, with the University of Arizona attracting students from around the world for an even more diverse multicultural mix.
Posted by: Leo Brown | Dec 29, 2006 2:24:11 PM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
