Obesity in the US

After a quarter century of increases, obesity prevalence has not measurably increased in the past few years but levels are still high –- at 34 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person’s weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

* An adult who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight.
* An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese

Height Weight Range BMI Considered
5’ 9” 124 lbs or less Below 18.5 Underweight
125 lbs to 168 lbs 18.5 to 24.9 Healthy weight
169 lbs to 202 lbs 25.0 to 29.9 Overweight
203 lbs or more 30 or higher Obese

The CDC study found:

• More than one-third of U.S. adults -– over 72 million people -- were obese in 2005-2006. This includes 33.3 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women.

• Adults aged 40-59 had the highest obesity prevalence compared with other age groups. Approximately 40 percent of men in this age group were obese, compared with 28 percent of men aged 20-39, and 32 percent of men aged 60 and older.

• Among women, 41 percent of those aged 40-59 were obese compared with 30.5 percent of women aged 20-39. Women aged 65 and older had obesity prevalence rates comparable with women in the 20 to 39 age group.

According to new research from members of the AMA has bee published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The research examines the impact of obesity on cardiovascular disease and it's relation to ethnicity.


Results A large proportion of white, African American, and Hispanic participants were overweight (60% to 85%) and obese (30% to 50%), while fewer Chinese American participants were overweight (33%) or obese (5%).


SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, AMA

Top Baby Names for 2007

Top 10 Names for 2007

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Jacob	Emily
2	Michael	Isabella
3	Ethan	Emma
4	Joshua	Ava
5	Daniel	Madison
6	Christopher	Sophia
7	Anthony	Olivia
8	William	Abigail
9	Matthew	Hannah
10	Andrew	Elizabeth
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

http://www.ssa.gov

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

For all the folks with cell phones. (This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.)


There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find
Yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an
Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to
Establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND Have you locked your keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy
someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys
In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on
their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot
>From your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock
button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will
unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked
Our car over a cell phone!'

THIRD Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the
keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

FOURTH How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following
Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the
screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it
somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....
FIFTH Free Directory Service for Cells

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for
411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not
carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation
even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information
option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

The human body

The human body is a machine that is full of wonder. This collection of human body facts will leave you wondering why in the heck we were designed the way we were.

1.. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.

2.. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.

3.. The smallest is the male sperm.

4.. You use 200 muscles to take one step.

5.. The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.

6.. Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

7.. A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.

8.. A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

9.. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.

10.. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

11.. It takes the food seven seconds t o get from your mouth to your stomach.

12.. The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

13.. Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.

14.. At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.

15.. There is about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

16.. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

17.. The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.

18.. Your teeth start developing (in your gums) 6 months before you are born.

19.. When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

20.. Blondes have more hair than dark-haired people.

21.. Your thumb is the same length as your nose.

The TIME 100 Most influential People

Leaders & Revolutionaries

* Dalai Lama
* Vladimir Putin
* Barack Obama
* Hillary Clinton
* John McCain
* Hu Jintao
* George W. Bush
* Jacob Zuma
* Anwar Ibrahim
* Kevin Rudd
* Bartholomew I
* Ben Bernanke
* Muqtada al-Sadr
* Robert Gates
* Michelle Bachelet
* Sonia Gandhi
* Baitullah Mehsud
* Evo Morales
* Ma Ying-jeou
* Ashfaq Kayani

Heroes & Pioneers

* Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
* Oprah Winfrey
* Oscar Pistorius
* Mia Farrow
* Andre Agassi
* Lance Armstrong
* Bob and Suzanne Wright
* Peter Gabriel
* Kaká
* Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum
* Yoani Sánchez
* Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
* Randy Pausch
* Lorena Ochoa
* Tony Blair
* Alexis Sinduhije
* Aung San Suu Kyi
* George Mitchell

Scientists & Thinkers

* Michael Bloomberg
* Craig Venter
* Jill Bolte Taylor
* Larry Brilliant
* Jeff Han
* Mehmet Oz
* Nancy Brinker
* Harold McGee
* Peter Pronovost
* Eric Chivian & Richard Cizik
* Mary Lou Jepsen
* Paul Allen
* Nicholas Schiff
* Mark Zuckerberg
* Wendy Kopp
* Shinya Yamanaka & James Thomson
* Michael Griffin
* Susan Solomon
* Isaac Berzin

Artists & Entertainers

* Lorne Michaels
* Miley Cyrus
* Robert Downey Jr.
* Herbie Hancock
* Joel & Ethan Coen
* Bruce Springsteen
* Peter Gelb
* Mariah Carey
* Khaled Hosseini
* Elizabeth Gilbert
* Rem Koolhaas
* Judd Apatow
* Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy
* George Clooney
* Tim Russert
* Suze Orman
* Stephenie Meyer
* Tyler Perry
* Tom Stoppard
* Chris Rock
* Takashi Murakami

Builders & Titans

* Indra Nooyi
* Ali al-Naimi
* Rupert Murdoch
* Steve Jobs
* Radiohead
* John Chambers
* Jeff Bezos
* Jay Adelson
* Steve Ballmer
* Jamie Dimon
* Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
* Lou Jiwei
* Neelie Kroes
* Jeffrey Immelt
* Karl Lagerfeld
* Lloyd Blankfein
* Carlos Slim
* Mo Ibrahim
* Ratan Tata
* Cynthia Carroll
* Carine Roitfeld
* Michael Arrington

time.com

Salaries

Health Care
Jobs in health care have soared 45% in the last 15 years, and experts expect opportunities to continue to grow as the population ages.

The U.S. will need more than 500,000 new nurses by 2016. Median salary for a registered nurse: $57,280.

Many of the fastest-growing occupations are medicine-related. Pharmacy technicians average $12.32 an hour. Medical transcribers can earn $17 an hour.

Family doctors and pediatricians are in demand, as more medical students pursue higher-paying fields like dermatology (average salary: $390,274) and plastic surgery (average salary: $412,000).

Entertainment
George Clooney may earn $20 million per movie, but he’s a rarity. Overall, the median wage for actors in the U.S. is less than $12 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As for the rest of the crew, they’re clearly doing it for the glamour, not the money.

The median wage for a movie or television writer is just $5,000 a year.

A costume designer or makeup artist can earn more than $2,000 a week. But since work comes on a project basis, year-round employment is not guaranteed.

Production assistants typically earn just $8 an hour.

TV show directors can earn upward of $35,000 for a single one-hour episode—if they hit it big.

Education
There will be 2.8 million new teaching-related jobs over the next eight years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Spanish-speaking educators will be particularly sought-after: The need for bilingual and English as a Second-Language (ESL) teachers has increased in each of the last three years. Overall, demand is up in 53 different education fields since last year. Administrators, teaching assistants and custodians are especially needed.

parade magazine

PARADE’s annual “What People Earn” salary roundup

How Does Your Salary Stack Up?

Published by Parade magazine: April 13, 2008
Americans are optimistic and resilient by nature. We’re upbeat about our personal prospects despite our anxiety about the current economy. Almost two-thirds of respondents to a national survey say they’re hopeful about what 2008 has in store for them, even though a majority of them, like many experts, believe we are already in the midst of a recession.

Wages Are Down
It’s tough out there: Hiring has slowed, unemployment is rising, and most salaries haven’t kept pace with the cost of basics such as groceries, gasoline and health care.

The U.S. is losing jobs for the first time since 2004. February’s loss of 101,000 jobs was the biggest drop in five years and the third monthly loss in a row.



Both high-end and low-end retailers are reporting slower sales, a sign that consumers at every income level are tightening their belts. As demand falls, many employers have cut their workers’ hours. The Labor Department says more than 600,000 people now work part-time because they can’t find full-time work. A growing number of Americans have been out of work for more than six months. The unemployment rate is expected to rise from 4.8% to 5.5% this year—and experts say it would be even higher if so many people hadn’t given up looking for work.

The nation’s median salary last year was $36,140 (half of all workers made more, half made less). After inflation, that’s almost 0.5% below the 2006 median salary. The average 2007 pay increase was less than 4%, and many Americans got smaller raises or none. Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index rose 4.3%. We now spend almost 5% more for food, 8.6% more for hospital services and a whopping 35% more for gasoline than we did a year ago.

Health Costs Soar
Health-care costs also are on the rise. Americans whose jobs provide health insurance paid about 11% more for it last year and probably will pay an additional 10% in 2008. Coverage is even more expensive for independent contractors.

Paychecks Won’t Stretch
Even people with good jobs feel they’re losing ground.


The Job Market Contracts
A major housing downturn and nationwide belt-tightening are having a big impact on the job market. The biggest layoffs have been in construction, manufacturing and financial services. Indeed, experts predict that up to 20% of securities-industry workers may lose their jobs. Bear Stearns—Wall Street’s fifth-largest investment bank—collapsed in March and was sold at a fire-sale price. Many of its 14,000 employees may be laid off.

As consumers spend less, hotels, restaurants and other service companies are experiencing their slowest growth in years, so they’re holding off on hiring.

And older workers aren’t retiring. In the mid-1980s, only 18% of people in their late 60s worked. Today, that figure is 29% and growing .

Consumers Cut Back
Americans are responding to today’s economic realities by spending more cautiously, borrowing less and trying to save more.

The soaring cost of oil, now around $100 a barrel, also has driven up the cost of petrochemical-based products—from lipstick, shampoo and shower curtains to polyester clothing and computer parts.

Where the Jobs Are
Even in a recession, some sectors of the economy are likely to keep growing—among them education, health care, security services and information technology. As entertainment increasingly is distributed online, there’s a growing demand for designers, writers and art directors with tech skills.
____________________________________________________________________

Good Jobs For Right Now
In a struggling economy, some jobs are more recession-proof than others

Energy. Jobs related to oil, gas and nuclear power remain essential and in demand. Positions range from scientists to engineers to rig and well workers.

Security. The Defense and Homeland Security departments are attempting to fill 83,000 civilian jobs, from auditors to program analysts.

Accounting. Managing corporate finances is especially important during lean times.

Wireless Support. With a mobile workforce, companies need professionals who can maintain wireless networks and protect information security.

Database Administration. As companies become more reliant on data for research, sales, and marketing, there is an increased need for database administrators.
_____________________________________________________________________

Good Jobs For The Future
Many of the fastest-growing, best-paying jobs are in new media, law and information technology

Information technology
In an economy reliant on technology, professionals who can design, develop and maintain computer systems are crucial. Chief information officers are commanding salaries of more than $200,000. Systems analysts can make more than $91,000.

Law
Lawyers are in high demand in areas including intellectual property, corporate law and litigation. First-year attorneys are starting out at $72,500 in small firms and as high as $137,000 at large firms. Legal-support workers are finding jobs plentiful and salaries healthy too. Legal librarians make as much as $69,500 a year, while calendar clerks can earn up to $46,750.

New media
The rapid growth of the Internet is fueling a boom in online media jobs. A creative director, responsible for website content and presentation, can attract a salary ranging from $80,000 to $120,000. On the business side, advertising salespeople are earning up to $103,500.
_______________________________________________________________________


PARADE’s annual “What People Earn” salary roundup is not a scientific study. Photo captions reflect the salary information provided by the participants and available sources. Celebrity earnings were compiled through published sources and with the assistance of Salary.com. Additional research and photography coordinated by J. Tyler Pappas Creative.

How many people in the United States abuse alcohol?

How many people in the United States abuse alcohol?

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. In the United States, 17.6 million people -- about 1 in every 12 adults --abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services. In general, more men than women are alcohol dependent or have alcohol problems, and alcohol problems are highest among young adults ages 18-29.

Substance abuse refers to the overindulgence in and dependence on a substance, legal or illegal, leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical health, mental health, and/or the welfare of others. There are many government, private and religious organizations that provide assistance to people with substance abuse problems.

For more information, please visit the following links:

• Descriptions of drugs that are commonly abused can be found on the web sites of both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/concern.htm and http://www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages.html.
• Information on substance abuse for teenagers can be found at http://www.teens.drugabuse.gov/.
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers statistics on substance abuse.
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• MedlinePlus: Substance Abuse Topic Problems provides links to a wide range of substance abuse resources.
• The National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service provides a toll-free telephone number for alcohol and drug information/treatment referral assistance. The number is 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357). Through this service you can speak directly to a representative concerning substance abuse treatment, request printed material on alcohol or other drugs, or obtain local substance abuse treatment referral information in your state.
• SAMHSA provides an online treatment facility locator where you can find a detox, rehab, halfway house, clinic, or counseling center anywhere in the United States for both alcoholism and drug addiction.

If you are an employer seeking information on workplace substance abuse issues, you can visit the Department of Labor's (DOL) Substance Abuse Information Database (SAID). SAID provides information about and access to hundreds of documents and resources that may assist employers and others to learn about workplace substance abuse issues and develop drug-free workplace programs, such as Working Partners at Work and the Drug-Free Workplace Advisor.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, a month set aside to recognize the serious problem of alcohol abuse.

USA.gov.

Prestigious Jobs

According to CNN and Careerbuilder.com, U.S. adults, according to a recent survey by Harris Interactive, see firefighters, scientists and teachers as the most prestigious occupations while bankers, actors and real estate agents are the least prestigious occupations.

Five other occupations were ranked as having “very great prestige” by over 50 percent of the adults surveyed: Scientists and teachers are considered very prestigious by 54 percent of adults, followed by doctors and military officers, who earn the prestige of 52 percent of Americans, and nurses, whom half of all adults consider very prestigious.

Among the least prestigious occupations are real estate brokers, actors and bankers. Only 5 percent of survey participants ranked real estate brokers as very prestigious; 9 percent gave actors this label, followed by 10 percent for bankers.

Accountants, entertainers, stockbrokers, union leaders, journalists, business executives and athletes all also ranked low on the list: Less than 20 percent of adults consider any of the aforementioned occupations to have “very great prestige.”

Consequently, five occupations are perceived to have “hardly any prestige at all” by at least a quarter of adults: stockbrokers (25 percent), union leaders (30 percent), entertainers (31 percent), real estate brokers (34 percent) and actors (38 percent).

Harris Interactive started conducting its “Most Prestigious Careers” survey in 1977 and included only 11 professions. The most significant change since the survey’s inception is that, with the exception of teachers and clergy, the perceived prestige of every one of the original 11 occupations has actually decreased over the years.

The most drastic drop occurred among scientists, lawyers and athletes, whose prestige dropped by 12 points, 14 points and 10 points, respectively. Clergy members are considered prestigious by a percentage point more of the population than they were 30 years ago, while teachers’ perceived prestige increased by 25 percent.

Future Job Growth

According to the US Department of Labor

Education and health services. This industry supersector is projected to grow faster, 30.6 percent. 3 out of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare and social assistance or private educational services sectors.

Healthcare and social assistance—(including private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services)—will grow by 30.3 percent and add 4.3 million new jobs.

Professional and business services. This industry supersector, which includes some of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy, will grow by 27.8 percent and add more than 4.5 million new jobs.

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services will grow by 31 percent and add 2.5 million new jobs to the economy by 2014.

Professional, scientific, and technical services will grow by 28.4 percent and add 1.9 million new jobs by 2014. Employment in computer systems design and related services will grow by 39.5 percent and add almost one-fourth of all new jobs in professional, scientific, and technical services. spurred by the increased use of new technology and computer software and the growing complexity of business.

Leisure and hospitality. Overall employment will grow by 17.7 percent. Arts, entertainment, and recreation will grow by 25 percent and add 460,000 new jobs by 2014.

Trade, transportation, and utilities. Overall employment in this industry supersector will grow by 10.3 percent between 2004 and 2014.

Retail trade is expected to increase by 11 percent, from 15 million to 16.7 million.

Financial activities. Employment is projected to grow 10.5 percent over the 2004-14 period. Real estate and rental and leasing is expected to grow by 16,9 percent and add 353,000 jobs by 2014.

Finance and insurance is expected to increase by 496,000 jobs, or 8.3 percent, by 2014.

Government. Between 2004 and 2014, government employment, including that in public education and hospitals, is expected to increase by 10 percent, from 21.6 million to 23.8 million jobs.

Goods-producing industries. Employment in the goods-producing industries has been relatively stagnant since the early 1980s.

The Most Satisfying Jobs

Firefighters, the clergy and others with professional jobs that involve helping or serving people are more satisfied with their work and overall are happier than those in other professions.

Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:

• Clergy—87 percent percent
• Firefighters—80 percent percent
• Physical therapists—78 percent percent
• Authors—74 percent
• Special education teachers—70 percent
• Teachers—69 percent
• Education administrators—68 percent
• Painters and sculptors—67 percent
• Psychologists—67 percent
• Security and financial services salespersons—65 percent
• Operating engineers—64 percent
• Office supervisors—61 percent”The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching, and protecting others and creative pursuits,” Tom W. Smith, of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, said in a statement.

  In a survey of 27,587 people questioned about their work, across all occupations, on average, 47 percent said they were very satisfied with their jobs and 33 percent said they were very happy.

Population Changes in the USA- Locations

St. Bernard and Orleans, two Louisiana parishes hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, were the nation’s fastest-growing counties in 2007, according to population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Top 10 Counties in Population Growth St. Bernard — the nation’s fastest-losing county from 2005 to 2006 — experienced a 42.9 percent population increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, upping its population by almost 6,000. Orleans’ population rose by 13.8 percent, or nearly 29,000.

According to the estimates, all but one of the nation’s 10 fastest-growing counties were located in the South or West, with Pinal, Ariz. (near Phoenix) ranking third at 11.5 percent; Kendall, Ill. (in the Chicago area) fourth at 10.6 percent; Rockwall, Texas (in the Dallas area) fifth at 8.2 percent; Flagler, Fla. (between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville) sixth at 7.2 percent; and Union, N.C. (near Charlotte) seventh at 7.2 percent. Rounding out the list were three Georgia counties: Forsyth (7.2 percent), Paulding (6.7 percent) and Jackson (6.7 percent). Forsyth and Paulding are in the Atlanta metro area, with Jackson bordering on Athens-Clarke County.

Maricopa County, Ariz. (Phoenix) was the top numerical gainer, increasing by 102,000 people between 2006 and 2007. Among the 10 counties that added the largest number of residents between 2006 and 2007, half were in Texas (Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and Travis), two in North Carolina (Wake and Mecklenburg), and one each in California (Riverside) and Nevada (Clark).
* Seventy of the 100 fastest-growing counties were in the South, with 22 in the West and eight in the Midwest.
* Among the 100 fastest-growing counties, more than one-third were in either Georgia (18) or Texas (16).
* Texas was home to 11 counties among the 25 with the highest numerical gains. Each of the top 25 was in the South or West.

2000-2007:

* The fastest-growing county was Kendall, Ill., with a population growth of 77.5 percent from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2007. Kendall edged out Flagler, Fla. (77.4 percent). Rounding out the top 10 were Rockwall, Texas (71.3 percent); Pinal, Ariz. (66.5 percent); Loudoun, Va. (64.4 percent); Forsyth, Ga. (61.5 percent); Paulding, Ga. (56.7 percent); Lincoln, S.D. (56.4 percent); Henry, Ga. (55.9 percent); and Newton, Ga. (54.9 percent).
* Maricopa County, Ariz., had the largest numeric increase from 2000 to 2007, adding 808,000 residents. Harris, Texas (535,000); Riverside, Calif. (528,000); Clark, Nev. (461,000); and Los Angeles, Calif. (359,000) followed. Texas was the home to nine of the top 25 numeric gainers, and California to six.
* Ten counties gained more than 200,000 residents from 2000 to 2007.
* Among Puerto Rico municipios, Toa Alta experienced the largest numerical gain (16,000), with Florida having the highest rate of increase (26.2 percent).

Atlanta metro area gained 890,000 residents from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, the largest numerical gain of the nation’s 361 metro areas.

This Georgia metro area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta) was the nation’s ninth largest as of July 1, 2006 with a population of 5.1 million. Overall, six metro areas each gained at least 500,000 people between 2000 and 2006.

Dallas-Fort Worth had the second largest numeric increase at 842,000, and totaled about 6 million people. Houston (with an increase of 825,000), Phoenix (787,000) and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (771,000) rounded out the top five metro area gainers over the time period. The five metro areas experiencing the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 were in the South or West.

The Northeast metro area with the greatest numeric change between 2000 and 2006 was New York (seventh overall nationally), while the Midwest metro area with the greatest numeric change over the same period was Chicago (10th overall nationally).

New York was the most populous metro area on July 1, 2006, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (13 million) and Chicago (9.5 million). Fourteen metro areas had populations of 4 million or more.
Nevada returned to the top as the nation’s fastest-growing state, with a population increase of 2.9 percent between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Arizona, fastest-growing between 2005 and 2006, slipped to second place.

Meanwhile, Louisiana began to rebound from its post-Hurricane Katrina population loss, gaining nearly 50,000 people from July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007, for a total population of 4.3 million. The state lost 250,000 residents during the previous one-year period. Texas gained more people than any other state: Its 2006-2007 increase of almost 500,000 was ahead of runner-up California, which added slightly more than 300,000.

California remains the most populous state with about 37 million people.

The Census Bureau also released a population estimate for Puerto Rico, which was 3.9 million on July 1, 2007.

Los Angeles, Calif., remained the most populous county, with a July 1, 2007, population of 9.9 million, a decline of 2,000 residents from 2006.St. Bernard — the nation’s fastest-losing county from 2005 to 2006 — experienced a 42.9 percent population increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, upping its population by almost 6,000. Orleans’ population rose by 13.8 percent, or nearly 29,000.
Elk Grove, California had the fastest growth rate of any large city (100,000 or more population) in the nation. Cities with the fastest growth rate were located in California, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada.

According the census bureau, March 2008;
Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas areas — Houston, Austin and San Antonio — also ranked in the top 10.

Atlanta saw the second-largest population jump with just over 151,000 new residents. Phoenix was third with more than 132,000, and was followed by Houston, Riverside, Calif., Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Austin, Las Vegas and San Antonio.

Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, 27 were in the South and 20 were in the West. Two were in the Midwest, one — Fayetteville, Ark. — straddles the South and Midwest and none was in the Northeast.

Detroit lost more than three times as many people as any other metro area — its population declined more than 27,300. Other areas losing more than 5,000 people were Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Ga., Youngstown, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y.

Experts credit much of the growth in the South to relatively strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the U.S.
16 percent of Americans who moved to other states between July 2006 and July 2007 came to Texas, which led the nation for the second straight year in that category.

Home prices continue to be a big factor. A report earlier this month by Global Insight found that housing prices in the Dallas area were undervalued by as much as 30 percent.

The New Orleans area, recovering from Hurricane Katrina, grew by 4 percent or nearly 40,000 people, putting it 16th in terms of raw numbers but eighth for percentage growth. During the same survey last year, the population of New Orleans dropped by nearly 290,000 people.

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census.gov