South Dakota’s Quiet Growth Adds To Shifting State Populations

Plenty of people packed up their belongings and headed for new surroundings in the past year. So which states saw the biggest increases and biggest decreases in population and how did South Dakota fare?

Visual Capitalist looked at 'Where Americans Moved in 2025', charting U.S. Census Bureau data from July of 2024 to July of 2025.

READ MORE: How South Dakota Became A Pizza Powerhouse For The World Cup

The winner was North Carolina, which attracted more domestic movers than any other state in 2025, gaining 84,100 residents.

Two states - California (-229,100) and New York (-137,600) lost more than 100,000 residents..

TOP TEN POPULATION INCREASES

1. North Carolina +84.1K
2. Texas +67.3K
3. South Carolina +66.6K
4. Tennessee +42.4K
5. Arizona +31.1K
6. Georgia +27.3K
7. Alabama +23.4K
8. Florida +22.5K
9. Idaho +19.9K
10. Nevada +14.9K

TOP TEN POPULATION DECREASES

1. California −229.1K
2. New York −137.6K
3. Illinois −40.0K
4. New Jersey −37.4K
5. Massachusetts −33.3K
6. Louisiana −14.4K
7. Maryland −12.1K
8. Colorado −12.1K
9. Hawaii −8.9K
10. Connecticut −5.9K

Overall, 31 states saw increase including South Dakota, which gained 2,200 residents, which is the 28th highest in America. South Dakota's population of 935,094 makes it the fifth least populated state.

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