Fast Growth in the Desert Southwest Continues

United States Census Bureau

America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

Fast Growth in the Desert Southwest Continues

Fast Growth in the Desert Southwest Continues

The Desert Southwest encompasses some of the country’s most arid territory and yet continues to be a fast-growing region of the United States.

In 2016, approximately 14.6 million people lived in the Desert Southwest’s 40 counties in five states.

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Ecological Classification of the Desert Southwest

For every decade between 1950 and 2010, the growth rate of the Desert Southwest was at least twice as great as that for the United States as a whole. And in three of those periods, the growth rate in the region was at least triple the U.S. growth rate: 1950 to 1960, 1970 to 1980, and 1980 to 1990. In fact, in each of those decades, the growth rate of the Desert Southwest exceeded 40 percent.
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