Only seven states grew at a slower pace than Ohio over the last year, according to Census figures to be released today.

        The slow growth was largely attributed to nearly 50,000 residents leaving the Buckeye State. Only California, New York and Illinois lost more people than Ohio, but those states gained a large influx of immigrants.

        The Census estimates show Ohio's population increased just 0.2 percent to 11,373,541 from April 2000 to July 2001. By comparison, the nation's population grew 1.2 percent.

        “We know people migrate in order to take advantage of better jobs,” said George Vredeveld, a University of Cincinnati economist and director of UC's Center for Economic Education. “The advantage (Ohio) used to have as a high-income state is dissipating.”

        The Census report warned the state could be losing a higher percentage of younger, college-educated workers than most states.

        Kentucky and Indiana both grew at a slightly faster pace — 0.6 percent — but still less than the national average. Kentucky added 23,787 for a total population of 4,065,556; Indiana gained 34,260 residents for a total of 6,114,745.

        Immigration fueled growth in the coastal states while sunbelt states such as Florida and Arizona were among the fastest growing, largely due to domestic migration.

        Nearly 40 percent of the nation's population growth came from immigrants. Of 3.4 million new residents, 1.3 million were immigrants, boosting the nation's total population to 284.8 million.

        California, the nation's most populous state, grew by about 630,000 since the Census Bureau conducted its nationwide head count in April 2000.

        Nevada's growth of 15.4 percent makes it the fastest-growing state for the 15th consecutive year. North Dakota had the biggest decline, dropping 1.2 percent.

        States with slower growth than Ohio were: West Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Wyoming.

        The population estimates did not include figures for counties, cities or other municipalities.

        Mr. Vredeveld said it's difficult to tell whether people are leaving Ohio because of the state's manufacturing industry slump.

        A July 2000 study conducted by the Ohio State Data Center showed that people tend to leave Ohio at a faster pace when the economy slumps. More than 103,000 people left Ohio from 1986 to 1990 — a period of slow job growth. When the economy picked up from 1991 to 1997, there were 60,372 people who left the state.

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