FAIRBANKS -- Alaska has fallen behind booming North Dakota in the list of most populous states, taking the 48th spot, while North Dakota moved up to 47th, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
During the past year, Alaska's population dropped by about 527, while North Dakota grew by about 16,000, making it the fastest growing state in the country on a percentage basis, the U.S. Census Bureau said. The bureau estimate put the North Dakota population at 739,482 in July, compared to 736,732 in Alaska, a difference of 2,750.
Alaska was one of six states to lose residents. The bureau estimates that there are 527 fewer people in Alaska this year than last.
The bureau said there were 11,221 births and 4,245 deaths in Alaska from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014. It estimated that there was a "net migration" of 8,022 people outside the state.
The Alaska population has risen by 3.7 percent since the 2010 Census, while the North Dakota population has jumped up 9.9 percent, the bureau says. In the last year alone, North Dakota's population ticked up by 2.16 percent, the agency reported.
The decline of 527 residents in Alaska followed years of growth, the Census Bureau said, with the state's population growing from 710,231 in 2010 to 737,259 in 2013. In 2010, North Dakota had a population of 672,591, but the boom triggered by the shale oil and gas industry has led to a population increase of nearly 70,000 people.
The national population during the year climbed to 319 million, according to the bureau estimates released Tuesday.
The state with the lowest population is Wyoming, with 584,153 people, while Vermont, with a population of 626,562, is 49th on the list. South Dakota remains in 46th place, with a population of 853,175.
Alaska had the lowest population of any state from 1960 until the 1990 Census, when it surpassed Wyoming. In the 2000 Census, Alaska had about 16,000 fewer residents than North Dakota, but by 2010, Alaska had about 40,000 more people than North Dakota.