CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia lost 0.25 percent of its residents within the last year, making it the highest percentage drop in the nation, according to estimates released Tuesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nearly 4,600 residents moved out of the state between July 2014 and July 2015, a quarter of 1 percent.
West Virginia was one of seven states to lose population, the report said.
The states that also dropped in population include Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico and Vermont. Illinois lost the most residents with 22,194 people leaving the state.
The report also said West Virginia had more deaths than births. There were about 21,704 deaths and 20,764 births within the year. Maine was also listed as a state with more deaths.
The fastest-growing state was North Dakota with a 2.2 percent increase. The most populous state was California with 39.1 million people.
About 102,400 people moved to North Carolina this year — bringing the total number of residents past the 10 million mark.
Neighboring state Virginia gained about 55,000 people.