An oil rig is shown on near Williston, North Dakota. Oil extraction discoveries have led to rapid industrial development and job creation in the area. Tom Reichner / Shutterstock.comYou can put this news solidly in construction’s “win” column.
North Dakota, site of the Bakken oil shale boom, is the nation’s fastest-growing state since 2011, says the Census Bureau. Largely thanks to the boom, the state’s population grew 2.17 percent between July, 2011 and July 2012, prompting it to move from 37th in growth (2000-2011) to sixth this year.
Close on North Dakota’s heels in population growth is the District of Columbia (a place that could deal with a population decrease) which clocked a 2.15 percent uptick.
Other state winners? Texas (1.67 percent); Wyoming (1.60 percent); Utah (1.45 percent) and Nevada, including the hard-hit Las Vegas area at 1.43 percent.
