Delaware population growth slows

Delaware’s population grew by nearly 100,000 over the past decade, but this year, the growth rate slowed.

Delaware’s population grew by nearly 9,000 in 2009, according to the latest estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau.  That’s an increase of 1.02% over 2008, but a smaller gain than the 1.32% annual growth rate that has been the average for the state this decade.

Of the 8,911 new residents, about half were babies born in 2009, while the other half migrated to the state from somewhere else.  About half of the migrants to Delaware in 2009 came from outside the U.S.  That includes Americans who had been living overseas, military personnel serving around the world, and international migrants.

Since 2000, Delaware’s population has increased by nearly 100,000 residents, from 786,411 in 2000 to an estimated 885,122 in 2009.  The official 2010 population numbers from the U.S. Census will be announced next December.

The Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination attributes the decline in population growth to the national recession.