MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The latest report from the U.S. Census shows West Virginia continued to lose population during the past year because deaths outnumbered births but WVU economist John Deskins says the bigger story may be that the numbers once again show more people moving to West Virginia than leaving the Mountain State.
Photo by WVU
“I think that this is maybe some early signal that our hope around remote work for West Virginia is working,” Deskins said Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “Maybe this is an indicator that we are getting those remote workers to move into the state and help boost the population numbers.”
Ascend WV is a remote work program aimed at attracting out-of-state residents to live and work in West Virginia. Marshall University President Brad Smith and his wife Alys founded the program within the West Virginia University Outdoor Economic Collaborative with a $25 million endowment in 2020. There are new residents in Shepherdstown, Morgantown and the Greenbrier Valley. The program is currently taking applications for the Elkins area.
The Census report said West Virginia lost approximately 12,000 residents to natural population decline. There were more people who died than were born. The overall net loss is was just more than 10,000 residents because the state had an improving net migration of approximately 2,200.
“The natural population decline is not really news, honestly,” Deskins said. “The good thing from this report is that we experienced positive net migration over this past year. Over 2,000 people moved into West Virginia above and beyond those who moved out.”
When you look at a longer period of Census numbers from April 1, 2020, through July 1, 2022, the net-migration is just under 5,000 residents.
Deskins said it’s progress.
“We clearly need the net migration numbers to increase to at least 12,000 to overcome the natural population decline but at least we’re moving in the right direction. I’m clinging to any hope I can find here,” Deskins said.
West Virginia saw another population decline due to more deaths than births. The good news is that the state tallied a net migration of 2,247. John Reskins, Director of WVU’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, joins @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/DZs8pBJ5sA
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) December 28, 2022
West Virginia continues to be one of the oldest states with poor health outcomes. Deskins said until that demographic shift occurs these reports will likely have similar conclusions.
“But the whole thing is driven by the fact that we already have an older population,” Deskins explained.” On the flip side, the migrants overall tend to be younger; you don’t see 75-year-old people moving for work.”
Deskins said understanding why those approximately 2,200 people decided to move to West Virginia is very important. He said that information can help business and economic leaders shape policies that enhance population growth.
“That research would be very valuable because we want to understand these trends and further bolster them over the next few years,” Deskins said.
The net migration number could be a preview of the future. Deskins said recent economic development announcements bringing thousands of jobs to the state are likely to lead to more workers and families moving to West Virginia.
“I don’t think we have achieved victory yet. We’re not where we want to be,” Deskins said. “However, I take this as a sign that we’re at least moving in the right direction.”
MetroNews Reporter Jeff Jenkins contributed to this story.