RANKING · 2000 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most population lost, US states · 2000

US states that lost the most residents from the 1990 census to 2000, by raw count of people rather than percentage. District of Columbia leads at -34,841. 51 states qualify in total.

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SAME RANKING BYCities Counties Metros

YEAR2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPPOPULATION CHANGEVS –

USUnited States281,421,906+1,534,999–

01District of Columbia, DCDC681,294-34,841–

02North Dakota, NDND784,841+3,400–

03West Virginia, WVWV1,778,373+14,867–

04Wyoming, WYWY582,397+40,194–

05Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,801+44,855–

06Vermont, VTVT647,106+46,069–

07Maine, MEME1,387,817+46,995–

08South Dakota, SDSD907,428+58,840–

09Alaska, AKAK735,706+76,889–

10Montana, MTMT1,116,875+103,130–

11Hawaii, HIHI1,445,235+103,308–

12Delaware, DEDE1,021,191+117,432–

13Connecticut, CTCT3,624,508+118,449–

14New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,868+126,534–

15Nebraska, NENE1,978,707+132,878–

16Iowa, IAIA3,210,507+149,569–

17Kansas, KSKS2,947,197+210,844–

18Louisiana, LALA4,611,961+249,003–

19Mississippi, MSMS2,946,779+271,442–

20Idaho, IDID1,934,262+287,204–

21New Mexico, NMNM2,120,246+303,977–

22Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,634+305,069–

23Arkansas, ARAR3,049,391+322,675–

24Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,056+332,672–

25Kentucky, KYKY4,534,824+356,473–

26Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,639+399,411–

27Alabama, ALAL5,086,768+406,513–

28Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,872+471,906–

29Missouri, MOMO6,191,814+478,138–

30Ohio, OHOH11,810,293+506,025–

31Utah, UTUT3,392,331+510,319–

32Maryland, MDMD6,206,011+515,018–

33South Carolina, SCSC5,296,225+525,309–

34Indiana, ININ6,851,073+536,326–

35Minnesota, MNMN5,739,445+544,380–

36Oregon, OROR4,254,293+579,078–

37Michigan, MIMI10,077,761+643,147–

38New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,809+684,162–

39Nevada, NVNV3,184,612+796,424–

40Tennessee, TNTN7,066,383+812,098–

41Virginia, VAVA8,705,170+891,157–

42New York, NYNY19,852,366+986,002–

43Illinois, ILIL12,694,798+988,691–

44Colorado, COCO5,862,189+1,006,867–

45Washington, WAWA7,816,116+1,027,429–

46North Carolina, NCNC10,730,404+1,420,676–

47Arizona, AZAZ7,378,838+1,465,404–

48Georgia, GAGA10,940,407+1,708,237–

49Florida, FLFL22,416,077+3,044,452–

50Texas, TXTX30,188,424+3,865,310–

51California, CACA39,287,377+4,111,627–

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

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UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the lowest population change?

District of Columbia ranks #1 with -34,841 (2000 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by population change?

District of Columbia, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, Rhode Island.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2000 Decennial Census data.

How is population change measured?

Change in the number of residents from the prior decennial census (raw count, not a percentage). Source: US Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census.