Population Estimates and Projections

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Coastline Population Trends in the 

United States: 1960 to 2008 Issued May 2010

P25-1139

Current

Population

Reports 

By

Steven G. Wilson 

and

Thomas R. Fischetti 

Coastline counties of the United 

States, located along the country’s 

saltwater edges, account for just 

254 of the nation’s 3,142 counties yet contain 29 percent of 

its population, 5 of its 10 most 

populous cities, and 7 of its 10 

most populous counties. Bordering the Atlantic and Pacifi c Oceans 

and the Gulf of Mexico, these 

bands of counties provide the setting for an intense concentration 

of economic and social activity. 

Shaped by migration, trade, and 

environmental factors, population 

trends in coastline counties are 

distinct from those for the nation 

as a whole or its noncoastline 

counties.

This report examines population trends in coastline counties 

and those counties’ shares of 

coastline states for the period 

1960 to 2008. With counties as a 

geographic base, the report uses 

decennial census data from 1960 

to 2000 and population estimates 

for 2000 through 2008 to examine trends in population growth 

and decline, geographic distribution, and density of the coastline 

population. One area of interest 

in recent decades has been the 

growth of the coastline population 

in hurricane-prone areas. The last 

section of the report incorporates 

historical data on the trajectories 

of hurricanes striking the U.S. 

coastlines to broadly gauge the 

coastline population’s recent experiences with hurricanes.

Since 1991, the U.S. Census Bureau 

has been publishing population statistics on coastal counties classifi ed 

as such by the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). The NOAA defi nition provides an environmentally based statistical reporting unit. The coastline

county defi nition applied in this 

report is based on location, including only those counties that border 

coastal water or territorial sea.

POPULATION TRENDS

The population in coastline counties has grown steadily in recent 

decades, increasing from 47 million 

people in 1960 to 87 million people 

in 2008 (Appendix Table A). During 

this period, the Pacifi c coastline 

region gained the largest number of 

people (17 million), followed by the 

Atlantic (15 million) and the Gulf of 

Mexico (8 million) (Table 1). During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, 

the Pacifi c was the largest-gaining 

coastline region, but, since 1990, 

the Atlantic region has been the 

largest numeric gainer. Since 1960, 

the coastline population has consistently added between 5 million and 

10 million people each decade, and 

its gain has always been smaller 

than that for noncoastline counties. In the 1980s, the coastline 

increase of 9.5 million accounted 

for 43 percent of the country’s total 

population increase. In the 1990s, 

however, population growth in 

coastline counties dropped slightly, 

to 9.1 million, while growth in 
2 U.S. Census Bureau Miami Tampa Newark Boston Seattle Houston New York Baltimore San Diego New Orleans Jacksonville Virginia Beach Corpus Christi Anaheim Oakland San Jose Los Angeles Long Beach Santa Ana San Francisco ME NH MA NY RI CT NJ DE MD Anchorage Honolulu SC NCVA WA OR CA LA MS AL GA FL AK HI TX Figure 1. Coastline Counties of the United States by Coastline Region 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles Places with 2008 population over 250,000 Coastline region Atlantic Gulf of Mexico Pacific Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program: 2008. Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico Pacific Ocean
U.S. Census Bureau 3

noncoastline counties soared to 

23.6 million from 12.7 million in 

the 1980s. In the 2000 to 2008 

period, the coastline gain of 5.3 

million people represented just 

23 percent of the country’s total 

population increase of 22.6 million 

people. 

Between 1960 and 2008, the 

percentage increase in population 

along the coastline (84 percent) 

was greater than that of the United 

States (70 percent) or for noncoastline counties (64 percent). 

Among the coastline regions, the 

percentage increase in population 

in the Gulf of Mexico (150 percent) 

and the Pacifi c (110 percent) far 

outpaced the gains for the Atlantic 

region (56 percent), although the 

Atlantic region added the most 

new coastline residents in both 

the 1990s and post-2000 periods. 

The Gulf of Mexico, starting from a 

small population base (5.6 million 

people in 1960), has maintained 

consistently higher percentage 

increases in population than the 

nation, the overall coastline, and 

noncoastline counties, with doubledigit percentage increases in all 

periods.

In the decades from 1960 through 

1990, the coastline population’s 

percent increase was higher than 

those of both the nation and its 

noncoastline counties. The situation has changed, however, for the 

post-1990 period, as the growth 

in coastline counties fell below 

the growth for the nation and its 

noncoastline counties. Between 

2000 and 2008, noncoastline counties grew by 9 percent, compared 

to a 7 percent gain for coastline 

counties.

COASTLINE COUNTIES DEFINED

To qualify as coastline, a county has to be adjacent to water classifi ed as either coastal water or territorial sea. The Census Bureau’s 

Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing 

(TIGER®) system lists four types of water: inland water, coastal 

water, territorial sea, and Great Lakes (U.S. Census Bureau, 1994). 

Coastal water and territorial sea include portions of the oceans, 

the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Bering Sea, but do 

not include the Great Lakes. Therefore, for the purposes of this 

report, counties along the Great Lakes are not classifi ed as coastline counties. If a county’s inclusion was in question, the 2009 Area 

Hydrography TIGER® fi le was referenced. If the county in question 

is adjacent to water classifi ed as bay, estuary, gulf, sound, ocean, or 

sea, the county is considered coastline.

There are 254 coastline counties, stretching across parts of 23 

states and covering 561,435 square miles. Coastline counties are 

located in three coastline regions: the Atlantic (129 counties), Gulf 

of Mexico (56 counties), and Pacifi c (69 counties) (Figure 1). These 

regions diff er from the four standard census regions (Northeast, 

Midwest, South, and West).

NOAA COASTAL COUNTIES

NOAA defi nes a county as coastal if “1) at least 15 percent of [the] 

county’s total land area is located within the Nation’s coastal watershed; or 2) a portion of or [the] entire county accounts for at least 

15 percent of a coastal cataloging unit” (for example, an individual 

drainage basin) (Wiley, 2003). This defi nition is well suited for evaluating how human activities occurring inland can aff ect water- and 

habitat-quality along the coast. However, most of the counties are 

not adjacent to a body of saltwater, and these nonadjacent counties 

are sometimes not perceived as coastal.

NOAA classifi es 674 coastal counties among four regions: the 

Atlantic (283 counties), Gulf of Mexico (144 counties), Pacifi c (89 

counties), and Great Lakes (158 counties). The total population of 

these counties has grown from 95 million in 1960 to 157 million in 

2008, an increase of 67 percent.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Share of State Population in Coastline Counties: 1960 to 2008

Area

Percentage of state population inside coastline counties Percentagepoint change, 

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 1960 to 2008

 Total for coastline counties . . 49.5 50.6 49.8 49.9 49.0 47.7 –1.8

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.4 46.9 48.7 50.8 53.6 54.2 8.8

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.3 18.8 20.7 22.2 22.4 22.6 6.3

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.4 50.3 51.1 51.5 52.3 52.6 2.1

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.7 62.1 62.3 61.8 62.3 62.0 –0.7

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.9 62.2 60.1 60.1 61.6 62.5 –0.4

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.2 52.3 52.0 51.8 51.9 51.6 –2.6

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.3 58.5 56.9 54.0 52.1 51.7 –13.7

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.4 36.2 36.8 40.2 39.9 39.3 5.9

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.7 9.4 9.6 10.2 9.9 9.9 0.2

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.9 17.1 17.1 17.8 18.5 19.6 2.7

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.4 4.9 –1.9

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.5 79.4 78.6 77.8 76.9 75.7 –1.8

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 10.9 11.4 11.8 12.1 12.5 1.3

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 10.8 11.9 12.1 12.8 11.9 3.2

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.6 38.0 37.5 36.7 36.0 32.3 –4.3

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.1 25.7 26.7 25.4 24.6 24.1 0.1

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.0 78.4 76.1 73.1 71.3 68.5 –9.5

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.0 20.4 20.5 19.4 17.9 17.0 –4.0

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 65.9 64.1 66.3 65.5 64.9 2.3

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.0 81.0 83.2 83.3 84.5 83.6 5.7

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

Table 1.

Population Change in Coastline and Noncoastline Counties: 1960 to 2008

Area

Period Change, 1960 

1960–1970 1970–1980 1980–1990 1990–2000 2000–2008 to 2008

NUMBER (in milions)

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.9 23.3 22.2 32.7 22.6 124.7

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 6.9 9.5 9.1 5.3 40.0

Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8 1.5 3.3 4.0 2.4 14.9

Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 2.2 1.6 1.8 1.4 8.4

Pacifi c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 3.2 4.6 3.3 1.6 16.7

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.6 16.5 12.7 23.6 17.3 84.8

PERCENT

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 11.5 9.8 13.2 8.0 69.6

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.5 12.1 14.9 12.4 6.5 84.3

Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 4.9 10.3 11.3 6.0 56.0

Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.7 31.9 17.2 17.1 10.9 150.2

Pacifi c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0 16.4 20.4 12.0 5.2 109.7

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 11.2 7.8 13.5 8.7 64.3

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

INFORMATION TO ASSIST IN INTERPRETING THE 

MAPS AND TABLES

The maps and tables in this report were designed to facilitate an 

understanding of the patterns of change in population and housing along the U.S. coastline. Figure 1 provides an overview of the 

coastline states and coastline counties classifi ed by region. Places 

with 2008 populations of 250,000 or more that are largely within 

coastline counties are also shown. The remaining maps present a 

closer look at coastline counties by removing most of the country’s 

interior section and enlarging the coastline regions. Tables with data 

for coastline regions and portions of coastline states are arranged 

geographically, starting with states in the Northeast, following the 

Atlantic coastline southward around the Florida peninsula, westward along the Gulf of Mexico to the tip of Texas, then along the 

Pacifi c in California and heading north to Washington. Alaska and 

Hawaii are included in the Pacifi c coastline region.

MEASURING CHANGE IN THE COASTLINE’S RESIDENT 

POPULATION

The coastline population trends examined in this report refer to 

changes in an area’s resident population, which consists of those 

people usually residing in that particular area (where they live and 

sleep most of the time). This measure of change in the population 

does not capture the temporal variations in population that occur in 

some coastline counties. For example, some areas contain seasonal 

housing units that are occupied only parts of the year. In addition, 

some northern coastline areas may swell substantially during the 

summer months and southern areas during the winter months as 

thousands of people arrive to vacation there.

Twenty-three states contain coastline counties. The coastline counties’ shares of state population 

have fl uctuated in recent decades 

(Table 2). Between 1960 and 2008, 

the coastline share of the population increased in 11 states and 

declined in 9. (Three states—Rhode 

Island, Delaware, and Hawaii—have 

their entire population in coastline counties.) During this period, 

consistent increases or decreases 

of the coastline share of population 

in each state were rare. Some of the 

largest percentage-point increases 

were in New England,1 where 

Maine’s coastline share of its total 

population increased by 9 percentage points and New Hampshire’s by 

6 percentage points. Virginia and 

Alaska also had increases of more 

than 5 percentage points. In all 4 

of these states, counties adding the 

most new residents were along the 

coastline. 

In contrast, the population has 

become less coastline-oriented 

for other states. For example, the 

share of Maryland’s population in 

its coastline counties dropped from 

65 percent in 1960 to 52 percent 

in 2008. Similarly, California’s 

coastline population-share 

dropped from 78 percent in 1960 

and 1970 to 69 percent in 2008. 

With the exception of New 

Hampshire—whose coastline 

is relatively short (about 

14 miles)— in all states from Maine 

through Maryland, the 2008 

coastline populations exceeded 50 

percent. Other states with majority 

coastline populations were Florida, 

California, Washington, Alaska, and 

Hawaii. Nine states had less than 

25 percent of their populations 

in coastline counties, including 

New Hampshire, North Carolina, 

South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 

Mississippi, Texas, and Oregon.

Because of regional variation 

in coastline population growth, 

the share of the total U.S. coastline population in some states 

has changed considerably since 

1960. Florida, for instance, contained 8 percent of the nation’s 

coastline population in 1960 and 

doubled its share to 16 percent 

by 2008 (Table 3). Virginia, Texas, 

California, and Washington each 

gained between 1 and 3 percentage points during the same period. 

The only state in the Northeast 

with an increasing share of the 

total coastline population was New 

Hampshire, although its gain was 

less than 1 percentage point. New 

York had both the largest overall decrease in share, declining 

8 percentage points, and the largest decrease in share between each 

decade. Along the Atlantic region, 

1New England consists of the states of Maine, 

New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 

Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

Share of U.S. Coastline Population by State: 1960 to 2008

Area

Percentage of U.S. coastline population inside state Percentagepoint change, 

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 1960 to 2008

 Total for coastline counties . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 (X)

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 –0.1

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 5.0 4.6 4.2 4.0 3.9 –1.6

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 –0.6

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.8 2.6 2.5 –0.9

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.3 20.0 16.6 14.8 14.2 13.9 –8.3

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 6.6 6.0 5.5 5.3 5.1 –1.8

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.1

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 4.0 3.8 3.5 3.4 3.3 –0.9

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.8 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.5 0.7

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.1

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.2

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 –0.0

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 9.5 12.1 13.8 15.0 15.9 7.8

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 –0.1

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.0 1.6 –0.9

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 5.1 6.0 5.9 6.2 6.7 1.9

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.8 27.6 28.3 29.8 29.4 28.8 3.0

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 –0.0

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.7 4.9 1.1

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.3

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.1

(X) Not applicable.

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

and Hawaii’s shares have held 

steady since 2000. Only Washington 

and Alaska increased their shares 

between 2000 and 2008.

Most coastline counties (223 of 

254) gained population between 

1960 and 2008, and their gains 

were above the average (70 percent) for all U.S. counties (Figure 

2). Along the Atlantic and Gulf of 

Mexico, counties from the southern 

coast of North Carolina through 

Mississippi all experienced population increases during the period. 

All counties bordering the Pacifi c 

coastline from California through 

Washington gained population 

during this time as well. Coastline 

counties that declined in population 

over the 48 years are located primarily in clusters along the Atlantic 

from Maine through northern North 

Carolina, and a few are on the Gulf 

of Mexico dotting the Louisiana and 

Texas coastlines.

In several instances, a state that 

had a decrease in coastline population share can attribute that negative change to population decline 

in a large city, such as Baltimore 

in Maryland, and New Orleans in 

Louisiana. Florida’s increase in 

share can be attributed to several 

counties (four along the Atlantic 

and six along the Gulf) experiencing greater than 500 percent 

change in population since 1960. 

Even though Oregon had a slight 

decrease in share, as noted earlier, 

all of its coastline counties posted 

growth between 1960 and 2008. 

However, the majority of those 

counties increased at percentages 

below the national average.

Maryland and Georgia had decreasing shares. The population in those 

two states grew but not as fast as 

the overall coastline population 

during the same period. In 1960, 

Florida’s share of the coastline population was about one-third the size 

of New York’s. By 2008, Florida’s 

16 percent share of the coastline 

population exceeded New York’s 

14 percent share. Other states along 

the Gulf of Mexico had only small 

increases in share, with Texas up by 

2 percentage points and Mississippi 

up less than 1 percentage point, 

or decreases in share (Alabama 

and Louisiana). While the Pacifi c’s 

overall share of coastline population increased between 1960 and 

2008 (4 percent), California’s share 

peaked in 1990, and both Oregon’s 
U.S. Census Bureau 7

Figure 2.

Change in Coastline Population by County: 1960 to 2008

Percentage change

U.S.

percent 

change:

69.6

500.0 or more

250.0 to 499.9

69.6 to 249.9

0.0 to 69.5

Less than 0.0

Not comparable

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960; Population Estimates Program: 2008. 

0 50 Miles

0 50 Miles

HI

WA

OR

CA

TX

LA

MS AL

FL

FL

ME

NH

MA

CT NY

NJ

RI

VA

NC

SC

MD

DE

GA

0 200 Miles

AK

 Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean

 Gulf of Mexico
8 U.S. Census Bureau

Los Angeles County, California, 

had the largest numeric population gain from 1960 to 2008 of 

any coastline county, growing from 

6 million to 9.9 million (Table 4). 

Seven other coastline counties also 

gained more than 1 million people 

over the same 48-year period (Harris County, Texas; Orange County, 

California; San Diego County, 

California; Miami-Dade County, 

Florida; Broward County, Florida; 

Santa Clara County, California; and 

Palm Beach County, Florida). Of 

the 20 largest numeric gainers, 13 

were in either California or Florida, 

3 were in Washington State, 2 in 

New York, and 1 each in Texas and 

Virginia.

The coastline county with the 

largest percentage increase in 

population between 1960 and 

2008 was Collier County, Florida, at 

1,900 percent. Six other coastline 

counties grew by more than 1,000 

percent between 1960 and 2008: 

Flagler County, Florida; MatanuskaSusitna Borough, Alaska; Hernando 

County, Florida; Citrus County, 

Florida; Pasco County, Florida; 

and Charlotte County, Florida.

Table 4.

Coastline Counties With Largest Numeric and Percentage Population Change: 1960 to 2008

County and state Coastline region

Population

1960 2008 Change, 1960 to 2008

NUMBER

Los Angeles County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 6,038,771 9,862,049 3,823,278

Harris County, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 1,243,158 3,984,349 2,741,191

Orange County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 703,925 3,010,759 2,306,834

San Diego County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 1,033,011 3,001,072 1,968,061

Miami-Dade County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 935,047 2,398,245 1,463,198

Broward County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 333,946 1,751,234 1,417,288

Santa Clara County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 642,315 1,764,499 1,122,184

Palm Beach County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 228,106 1,265,293 1,037,187

King County, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 935,014 1,875,519 940,505

Suffolk County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 666,784 1,512,224 845,440

Hillsborough County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 397,788 1,180,784 782,996

Fairfax County, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 275,002 1,015,302 740,300

Contra Costa County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 409,030 1,029,703 620,673

Ventura County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 199,138 797,740 598,602

Alameda County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 908,209 1,474,368 566,159

Lee County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 54,539 593,136 538,597

Pinellas County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 374,665 910,260 535,595

Snohomish County, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 172,199 683,655 511,456

Queens County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 1,809,578 2,293,007 483,429

Pierce County, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 321,590 785,639 464,049

PERCENT

Collier County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 15,753 315,258 1,901.3

Flagler County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,566 91,247 1,898.4

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 5,188 85,458 1,547.2

Hernando County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 11,205 171,689 1,432.3

Citrus County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 9,268 141,416 1,425.9

Pasco County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 36,785 471,028 1,180.5

Charlotte County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 12,594 150,060 1,091.5

Lee County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 54,539 593,136 987.5

Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 6,097 53,409 776.0

Martin County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 16,932 138,660 718.9

Prince William County, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 50,164 364,734 627.1

Stafford County, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 16,876 121,736 621.4

St. Lucie County, FL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 39,294 265,108 574.7

St. Johns County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 30,034 181,540 504.4

Wakulla County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 5,257 31,089 491.4

St. Tammany Parish, LA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 38,643 228,456 491.2

Dare County, NC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 5,935 33,584 465.9

Calvert County, MD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 15,826 88,698 460.5

Palm Beach County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 228,106 1,265,293 454.7

James City County, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 11,539 62,414 440.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960; Population Estimates Program: 2008.
U.S. Census Bureau 9

Table 5.

Demographic Components of Population Change for Coastline Counties by State: 

2000 to 2008

Area Total change, 

2000 to 2008

Population

Components of change

Natural 

increase

Net migration

2000 2008 Total International Domestic

 United States . . . . . . . 22,635,122 281,424,602 304,059,724 14,124,166 8,114,516 8,114,516 (X)

 Coastline counties . . . . . 5,299,082 82,124,751 87,423,833 4,451,235 387,565 3,909,337 –3,521,772

 Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,369,421 39,215,378 41,584,799 1,724,696 192,580 1,844,385 –1,651,805

 Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . 1,363,026 12,557,638 13,920,664 647,975 622,882 407,186 215,696

 Pacifi c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,566,635 30,351,735 31,918,370 2,078,564 –427,897 1,657,766 –2,085,663

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,546 682,811 713,357 9,069 24,355 3,320 21,035

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . 19,993 277,357 297,350 12,241 9,199 1,666 7,533

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,955 3,317,775 3,414,730 104,983 –47,558 110,161 –157,719

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,469 1,048,319 1,050,788 24,100 –16,268 24,945 –41,213

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,690 2,120,754 2,170,444 76,296 –15,451 73,577 –89,028

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495,476 11,686,026 12,181,502 655,770 –587,880 793,095 –1,380,975

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113,682 4,365,812 4,479,494 181,485 –61,436 232,731 –294,167

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89,497 783,595 873,092 36,658 56,652 14,270 42,382

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150,365 2,761,173 2,911,538 91,910 33,970 27,874 6,096

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222,754 2,827,963 3,050,717 216,073 16,042 80,752 –64,710

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . 116,486 792,620 909,106 38,447 77,877 –490 78,367

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,642 742,279 877,921 34,691 102,013 10,232 91,781

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,311 439,453 475,764 30,339 7,960 2,043 5,917

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,585,488 12,286,141 13,871,629 248,993 1,354,218 582,384 771,834

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,490 540,258 580,748 20,310 22,292 4,328 17,964

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . –14,701 363,995 349,294 15,874 –27,439 950 –28,389

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . –184,470 1,610,620 1,426,150 56,477 –311,458 11,796 –323,254

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745,774 5,126,065 5,871,839 518,955 178,374 277,937 –99,563

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,025,473 24,135,822 25,161,295 1,758,065 –664,341 1,497,924 –2,162,265

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,198 611,674 643,872 1,639 33,548 7,243 26,305

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387,797 3,863,187 4,250,984 192,579 200,212 116,786 83,426

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,507 529,514 574,021 49,534 –2,351 4,496 –6,847

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,660 1,211,538 1,288,198 76,747 5,035 31,317 –26,282

 Noncoastline counties . . 17,336,040 199,299,851 216,635,891 9,672,931 7,726,951 4,205,179 3,521,772

(X) Not applicable.

Note: Data for 2000 represent the April 1 estimates base, which refl ects changes to the Census 2000 population from the Count Question 

Resolution program and geographic program revisions. Population change includes estimates of the population derived using a residual method. 

More information on the Population Estimates Program’s methodology for producing population estimates for counties is available at <www.census

.gov /popest/topics/methodology/2008-st-co-meth.html>. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program: 2008.

In addition, the independent city 

of Virginia Beach, Virginia (not 

shown in Table 4), had a population increase of 5,300 percent 

between 1960 and 2008, refl ecting 

the 1963 consolidation of Princess 

Anne County (1960 population of 

76,100) with Virginia Beach independent city (1960 population of 

8,100). Overall, of the 20 largest 

percentage growers, 12 were in 

Florida, 3 were in Virginia, 2 were 

in Alaska, and 1 each in Louisiana, 

North Carolina, and Maryland.

DEMOGRAPHIC 

COMPONENTS OF CHANGE

Population growth and decline for 

counties during a given time can 

be attributed to several diff erent 

processes: (1) natural increase 

(more births than deaths) or natural 

decrease (more deaths than births); 

(2) net domestic migration (the difference between inmigration from 

elsewhere in the country and outmigration); and (3) net international 

migration (movement to and from 

abroad). This section will examine 

these demographic components of 

change for the 2000 to 2008 period 

for coastline regions and coastline 

portions of coastline states.

Natural increase was the largest 

contributor to population change, 

accounting for 84 percent (4.5 million of 5.3 million) of the total population change along the coastlines 

between 2000 and 2008 (Table 

5). All coastline regions experienced positive natural increase. 

Net international migration to 

coastline counties numbered 3.9 

million, but overall net migration 
10 U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 3.

Population Density for Coastline Counties:

1960 to 2008

(Average number of people per square mile of land area)

0

100

200

300

400

500

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008

Density level (Alaska excluded)

Density level (Alaska included)

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 

are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 

1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

77.4

95.8

130.2

146.3 155.7

260.5

349.2

400.8

450.5

479.5

113.7

311.7

was off set by net domestic outmigration of 3.5 million, primarily from California and New York. 

The Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

regions had net inmigration, while 

the Pacifi c region experienced net 

outmigration.

Natural increase was the norm for 

all coastline portions of the 23 

coastline states and was a larger 

contributor to population change 

than net migration in 15 of those 

states. Net outmigration occurred 

along the coastlines of states 

stretching from Massachusetts 

through New Jersey as well as 

Mississippi, Louisiana, California, 

and Alaska. Coastline Florida’s 

total net migration (1.4 million) 

accounted for 85 percent of its 

coastline growth and was at least 

1.1 million people higher than total 

net migration in all other portions 

of coastline states. The coastline 

section of North Carolina was the 

only section to have negative net 

international migration, refl ecting movement overseas of Armed 

Forces based in Onslow County 

(location of Marine Corps Air 

Station New River and Marine Corps 

Base Camp Lejeune).
U.S. Census Bureau 11

Table 6.

Population Density for Coastline Counties by State: 1960 to 2008

(Average number of people per square mile of land area)

Area

Year Change, 1960 to 2008

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 Number Percent

 United States . . . . . . . . 50.5 57.5 64.2 70.5 79.7 86.1 35.6 70.4

 Coastline counties . . . . . . 77.4 95.8 113.7 130.2 146.3 155.7 78.3 101.2

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.5 59.8 70.5 80.1 87.8 91.7 35.2 62.2

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . 142.6 200.0 274.0 353.9 399.3 428.0 285.5 200.3

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961.3 1,059.5 1,085.5 1,146.0 1,228.1 1,264.0 302.7 31.5

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831.4 915.8 916.2 970.6 1,014.0 1,016.4 185.0 22.3

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701.9 832.0 855.4 897.0 937.1 959.0 257.1 36.6

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,469.2 5,875.4 5,462.1 5,598.1 6,053.5 6,310.3 841.1 15.4

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995.6 1,134.9 1,159.4 1,212.3 1,321.6 1,355.6 360.0 36.2

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229.0 281.2 304.9 341.8 402.0 447.9 219.0 95.6

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366.8 415.3 434.4 467.5 499.8 527.0 160.3 43.7

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248.3 336.0 394.5 498.7 566.9 611.6 363.3 146.3

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 55.3 65.3 78.7 91.9 105.3 54.2 105.9

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.4 85.8 103.4 120.8 144.2 170.5 92.1 117.5

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.3 100.2 116.3 137.7 156.5 169.5 74.3 78.0

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129.1 181.4 258.0 338.9 413.6 467.0 337.9 261.6

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128.9 133.6 157.3 169.2 191.6 206.0 77.1 59.8

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106.8 135.5 169.6 176.4 205.6 197.3 90.5 84.8

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142.7 165.9 188.7 185.6 192.8 170.7 28.0 19.6

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157.8 197.4 259.8 295.4 351.0 402.0 244.2 154.7

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351.2 448.4 516.1 623.3 691.7 721.1 369.9 105.3

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.6 27.1 34.3 35.0 38.9 40.9 17.3 73.4

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.8 124.2 146.5 178.5 213.6 235.1 136.3 138.1

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.1 269.4

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.4 119.6 150.1 172.4 188.5 200.4 102.0 103.6

 Noncoastline counties . . . 44.9 49.8 54.8 59.2 67.1 72.9 28.0 62.4

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

POPULATION DENSITY

Population density is the measurement of the number of people in 

an area, frequently expressed as 

the average number of people per 

square mile. Excluding Alaska, 

whose sizable coastline area (over 

10 times as large as any other state 

coastline portion and accounting 

for 70 percent of the total U.S. 

coastline land area) heavily aff ects 

national density statistics, the average density of coastline counties 

was 260 people per square mile in 

1960 and increased steadily each 

decade to 480 people per square 

mile in 2008 (Figure 3). Including Alaska, the population density 

shows a less dramatic increase, 

growing from 77 people per square 

mile in 1960 to 156 people per 

square mile in 2008.

Coastline counties, which are many 

of the country’s densest counties, 

are, on average, twice as dense 

as noncoastline counties (Table 

6). Among the coastline states, 

only the coastline sections of New 

York, between 1970 and 1980, 

Louisiana, between 1980 and 1990 

and between 2000 and 2008, and 

Mississippi between 2000 and 2008 

had decreases in population density.

Coastline sections of northeastern states are by far the densest. 

In 2008, of the 7 northeastern 

coastline states, 4 (Massachusetts, 

Rhode Island, New York, and New 

Jersey) had a coastline population density above 1,000 people 

per square mile, and Connecticut’s 

coastline population density was 

close behind, at 959 people per 

square mile. These fi ve states also 

had the fi ve densest coastline portions of all coastline states.

The 4 densest coastline counties—

New York (Manhattan), Kings 

(Brooklyn), Bronx, and Queens—

constitute 4 of New York City’s 

5 boroughs (Table 7). The fi fth 

borough, Staten Island (Richmond 

County), more than doubled in density between 1960 and 2008, and 

moved from sixteenth to eighth 

densest in that time. Furthermore, 

in both 1960 and 2008, 10 of 
12 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 7.

Coastline Counties by Highest Population Density: 

1960 and 2008

(Average number of people per square mile of land area)

County and state Coastline region Density

1960

New York County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 74,551.4

Kings County, NY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 37,103.8

Bronx County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 33,843.6

Queens County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 16,554.6

San Francisco County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 15,795.1

Suffolk County, MA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 13,615.4

Hudson County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 13,219.4

Baltimore city, MD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 11,600.0

Essex County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 7,317.5

Portsmouth city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 6,376.3

Suffolk city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 6,304.5

Norfolk city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 5,650.7

Union County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,902.3

Nassau County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,569.2

Virginia Beach city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,045.5

Richmond County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 3,803.2

Orleans Parish, LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 3,704.0

Westchester County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 1,878.9

Hampton city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 1,736.2

Newport News city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 1,662.9

2008

New York County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 71,764.5

Kings County, NY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 36,105.0

Bronx County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 33,061.8

Queens County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 20,977.1

San Francisco County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 17,260.0

Hudson County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 12,887.9

Suffolk County, MA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 12,606.4

Richmond County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 8,350.3

Baltimore city, MD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 7,868.1

Essex County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 6,106.3

Union County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 5,087.0

Nassau County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,750.0

Norfolk city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 4,327.0

Orange County, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacifi c 3,807.8

Pinellas County, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 3,324.4

Portsmouth city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 2,988.0

Hampton city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 2,830.1

Newport News city, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 2,627.9

Fairfax County, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 2,597.6

Middlesex County, NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 2,554.7

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960; Population 

Estimates Program: 2008.

the 20 densest coastline counties 

were part of the current New York 

metropolitan statistical area (metro 

area). The only Pacifi c county on 

the “Top 20” list in 1960 was San 

Francisco County, California, which 

is the second smallest county 

in land area in the Pacifi c region 

(behind Kalawao County, Hawaii) 

and coextensive with the city of 

San Francisco. Other counties 

containing large cities on the list 

in 1960 included Suff olk County, 

Massachusetts (Boston); Baltimore 

city, Maryland; and Orleans Parish, 

Louisiana (New Orleans). The other 

6 counties rounding out the Top 20 

in 1960 were small independent 

cities of Virginia.

Aside from some shifts in rankings, diff erences in the list of 

densest coastline counties in 

1960 and 2008 include the addition of Orange County, California, 

and Pinellas County, Florida, 

while Orleans Parish, Louisiana, 

and Westchester County, New 

York, dropped off the list. Given 

these changes, the Atlantic region 

retained 17 of the 20 densest 

counties (compared to 18 in 1960), 

while the Pacifi c had 2, and the 

Gulf of Mexico had 1. Between 

1960 and 2008, some of the densest counties (New York County, 

New York; Kings County, New 

York; and Bronx County, New York) 

decreased somewhat in density, 

while the threshold for making the 

Top 20 increased from 1,660 to 

over 2,500 people per square mile.

Refl ecting well-known trends in 

post-World War II suburbanization 

and central city population decline, 

some of the densest counties of 

the Atlantic region decreased in 

population density between 1960 

and 2008 while counties in close 

proximity to those dense counties 

increased in population density. 

For example, counties surrounding 

Suff olk, Massachusetts (Boston), 

Baltimore city, Maryland, and 

Washington, DC, all saw increases 

of more than 250 people per 

square mile (Figure 4). In the 

southern Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, 

and Pacifi c, counties both surrounding and containing large 

cities such as Jacksonville, Miami, 

Tampa, Houston, San Diego, Los 

Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, 

and Honolulu had large increases 

in population density. This increasing density has contributed to an 

increase in the size of core urban 

areas and, as a result, an increase 

in the number of metro area counties along the coast.
U.S. Census Bureau 13

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960; Population Estimates Program: 2008. 

Source: U.S. CensusBureau, Decennial

Censusof PopulationandHousing: 1960;

PopulationEstimatesProgram: 2008.

0 50 Miles

0 50 Miles

Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean

Gulf of Mexico

HI

WA

OR

CA

TX

LA

MS AL

FL

FL

ME

NH

MA

CT NY

NJ

RI

VA

NC

SC

MD

DE

GA

Figure 4.

Change in Population Density for Coastline Counties: 1960 to 2008

Change in number of people

per square mile

U.S.

increase:

35.6

250.0 or more

100.0 to 249.9

35.6 to 99.9

0.0 to 35.5

Less than 0.0

Not comparable

0 200 Miles

AK
14 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 8.

Coastline Population by Metropolitan Area Status: 

1960 and 2008

Area

Number (in millions) Percent

1960 2008 1960 2008

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . 179.3 304.1 100.0 100.0

Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114.4 254.2 63.8 83.6

Outside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.9 49.9 36.2 16.4

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . 47.4 87.4 100.0 100.0

Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.0 83.6 86.5 95.6

Outside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 3.8 13.5 4.4

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . 131.9 216.6 100.0 100.0

Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.3 170.6 55.6 78.7

Outside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.5 46.1 44.4 21.3

Note: Standard metropolitan statistical areas defi ned by the U.S. Bureau of the Budget as 

of November 1960. Metropolitan statistical areas defi ned by the U.S. Offi ce of Management 

and Budget (OMB) as of November 2007. For the 2008 data, the “outside metro area” category 

includes both micro areas and territory outside of metro and micro areas defi ned by OMB as of 

November 2007. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

STATISTICAL AREA DEFINITIONS

Standard defi nitions of metropolitan areas were fi rst issued by 

the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (predecessor of the U.S. Offi ce of 

Management and Budget [OMB]), under the designation “standard 

metropolitan area” (SMA), for use in the 1950 census. From that 

time forward, OMB (or its predecessor) has reviewed the statistical area standards and, if called for, modifi ed them in the period 

preceding their application to new Census Bureau decennial data. 

The term was changed to “standard metropolitan statistical area” 

(SMSA) in the standards developed for the 1960 census. The 

2000 OMB standards provide for metropolitan and micropolitan 

statistical areas (metro and micro areas), collectively referred 

to as “core based statistical areas” (CBSAs). These geographic 

entities are defi ned for use by federal statistical agencies in 

collecting, tabulating, and publishing federal statistics. A metro 

area contains a core urban area population of 50,000 or more. 

A micro area contains a core urban area population of at least 

10,000 (but less than 50,000). Each metro or micro area consists 

of one or more counties and includes the counties containing 

the core urban area, as well as any adjacent counties that have a 

high degree of social and economic integration (as measured by 

commuting to work) with the urban area. A metro or micro area’s 

geographic delineation, or list of geographic components at a 

particular point in time, is referred to as its defi nition. During the 

period examined in this report, there have been modifi cations in 

statistical area defi nitions, such as the qualifi cation of new metro 

areas, changes to the defi nitions of some existing metro areas, 

and since the application of the 2000 OMB standards to Census 

2000 data, the qualifi cation of micro areas. This report uses two 

sets of statistical area defi nitions. For 1960, SMSAs are as defi ned 

by the Bureau of the Budget as of November 1960; and, for 2008, 

CBSAs are as defi ned by OMB as of November 2007.

POPULATION TRENDS BY 

CORE BASED STATISTICAL 

AREA STATUS

The 1960 coastline population was 

predominantly metropolitan, with 

87 percent of coastline residents 

living in metro area counties (Table 

8). But most counties of the coastlines were not in standard metropolitan statistical areas. For example, along the Atlantic and Gulf of 

Mexico, except for a swath of counties from New Hampshire through 

northern New Jersey, only a handful of counties were metropolitan 

(Figure 5). No coastline counties 

in North Carolina or Mississippi 

were metropolitan at that time. The 

Pacifi c coastline was similar, with 

large portions of counties outside 

metro areas and no metro area 

counties in Alaska. However, in 

2008, metro and micro area counties present almost unbroken bands 

along the country’s coastline perimeter. This transition came about 

as all coastline counties that were 

metropolitan in 1960 continued to 

be so in 2008, and new metro area 

counties began fi lling in most of 

the space between the older metro 

area counties. In addition to metro 

areas, there are now micro areas, 

introduced in 2003, accounting for 

a number of counties that do not 

belong to metro areas. In Figure 5, 

these bands of metro and micro area 

counties are especially noticeable 

from southern Maine through northern Virginia; from the outer banks 

of North Carolina around the peninsula of Florida; from the Florida 

panhandle to the southern tip of 

Texas; and from southern California 

to the middle of the Oregon coast.

This increase in the number of 

coastline counties in metro areas 

refl ects increased county population and population density as well 

as social and economic integration among those counties. In 

1960, 87 percent of the coastline 
U.S. Census Bureau 15

0 Miles 50

0 Miles

 Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean

 Gulf of Mexico

WA

OR

CA

TX

LA

FL

ME

NH

MA

CT NY

NJ

RI

VA

NC

SC

MD

A

0 50 Miles

HI

WA

OR

CA

TX

LA

MS AL

FL

FL

ME

NH

MA

CT NY

NJ

RI

VA

NC

SC

MD

DE

GA

0 200 Miles

AK

Standard metropolitan 

statistical areas for 1960 are 

defined by the U.S. Bureau 

of the Budget as of November

1960. Core based statistical 

areas for 2008 are defined 

by the U.S. Office of 

Management and Budget as 

of November 2007.

Metro in 1960 and 2008

Additional metro in 2008

Micro in 2008

Outside metro or micro

Note: Metro in 1960 refers 

to standard metropolitan 

statistical areas; metro and 

micro in 2008 refer to 

core based statistical areas.

Figure 5. 

Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area and Core Based Statistical Area Status 

for Coastline Counties: 1960 and 2008
16 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 9.

Housing Unit Change in Coastline and Noncoastline Counties: 1960 to 2008 

Area

Period Change, 

1960 to 

1960–1970 1970–1980 1980–1990 1990–2000 2000–2008 2008

NUMBER (in millions)

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 19.7 13.9 13.6 13.2 70.7

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 5.7 4.5 3.2 3.2 20.2

Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 2.2 2.0 1.6 1.5 8.8

Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.9 4.5

Pacifi c 1.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.8 6.8

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8 14.1 9.4 10.4 9.9 50.6

PERCENT

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.7 28.7 15.7 13.3 11.4 121.3

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.3 28.8 17.8 10.7 9.8 125.5

Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.9 21.2 15.5 10.6 9.4 98.1

Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.5 58.9 26.2 14.0 16.0 246.3

Pacifi c 28.5 29.9 17.3 9.3 7.3 129.7

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0 28.7 14.8 14.4 12.0 119.7

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

population was metropolitan, compared to 64 percent for the nation 

and 56 percent for noncoastline 

counties. In 2008, the percentage 

of the coastline county population that belonged to a metro area 

increased to 96 percent, compared 

to 84 percent for the nation and 79 

percent for the nation’s noncoastline counties. When including the 

population of micro areas, the total 

percentage in core based statistical 

areas in 2008 stood at 99 percent 

for coastline counties, compared to 

94 percent for the country and 92 

percent for noncoastline counties 

(Appendix Table B).

HOUSING TRENDS

The number of housing units along 

the coastline increased in recent 

decades, from 16.1 million in 1960 

to 36.3 million in 2008 (Appendix 

Table C). During this period, the 

Atlantic coastline region gained the 

largest number of housing units 

(8.8 million), followed by the Pacifi c 

(6.8 million) and the Gulf of Mexico 

(4.5 million) (Table 9). During the 

1960s, the Atlantic and Pacifi c each 

gained 1.5 million housing units, 

but since 1970, the Atlantic region 

has been the largest numeric 

gainer. Since 1960, coastline counties have consistently added at 

least 3 million housing units each 

decade—with a peak increase in 

the 1970s of 5.7 million—and their 

gain has always been smaller than 

that for noncoastline counties.

Between 1960 and 2008, the percentage increase in housing units 

along the coastline (126 percent) 

was greater than that of the United 

States (121 percent) or for noncoastline counties (120 percent). 

Among the coastline regions, the 

total percentage increases in the 

Gulf of Mexico (246 percent) and 

the Pacifi c (130 percent) far outpaced the gains for the Atlantic 

region (98 percent). Housing unit 

growth along the Gulf of Mexico 

soared to just under 60 percent in 

the 1970s and consistently maintained higher percentage increases 

in housing units than the nation, 

the overall coastline, and noncoastline counties (except in the 1990s), 

with double-digit percentage 

increases in all periods.

In each of the 23 states with 

coastline counties, the coastline 

counties’ share of the state’s housing units has fl uctuated in recent 

decades, from a high of 52 percent 

in 1970 to a low of 48 percent in 

2008 (Table 10). Between 1960 

and 2008, the U.S. coastline share 

of housing units increased in 

11 states and declined in 9. Some 

of the largest percentage-point 

increases were along the Atlantic, 

where Maine’s and New Hampshire’s 

coastline shares of their total housing units increased by 4 percentage 

points. Virginia’s share increased 

by 5 percentage points, and South 

Carolina’s by 6 percentage points.
U.S. Census Bureau 17

Table 10.

Share of Coastline County Housing Units by State: 1960 to 2008

Area

Percentage of state housing units inside coastline counties Percentagepoint change, 

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 1960 to 2008

 Coastline state total . . . 51.3 51.7 50.7 50.0 48.7 47.7 –3.7

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.9 50.7 51.6 52.2 53.8 54.7 3.8

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.4 18.9 19.7 20.2 20.7 20.8 3.5

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.3 52.6 53.2 53.5 53.6 53.6 0.3

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.1 62.1 62.5 61.9 61.9 61.8 –1.3

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.3 62.9 60.1 58.9 59.0 59.1 –4.2

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.9 55.2 54.7 54.4 53.8 54.0 –2.9

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.5 59.5 57.8 55.5 54.7 54.2 –12.2

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.6 34.1 35.5 38.4 37.7 37.5 4.9

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 9.9 10.5 11.5 11.4 11.7 1.8

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.4 17.6 18.7 21.2 21.6 23.9 6.4

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 6.2 6.1 5.9 5.7 5.5 –1.7

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.5 80.9 80.6 79.4 78.2 77.3 –2.3

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 10.8 11.3 12.1 12.2 13.2 2.0

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 10.9 12.4 12.9 13.1 12.4 3.2

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.3 38.5 38.0 37.4 36.2 30.5 –6.8

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.7 25.2 27.0 25.4 24.3 24.7 1.0

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.8 78.3 74.9 72.2 70.5 68.1 –9.7

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.6 20.4 21.3 20.5 19.6 18.9 –1.7

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.2 66.1 64.6 66.8 66.3 66.4 3.2

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.6 82.9 82.6 82.9 84.0 83.5 4.9

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.
18 U.S. Census Bureau

COASTLINE COUNTIES AND 

HURRICANES

Coastline counties along the 

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts 

as well as the Hawaiian Islands 

account for nearly two-thirds of 

the nation’s coastline population 

and are home to 4 of the nation’s 

10 most populous counties. These 

counties are also vulnerable to 

one of nature’s biggest threats: 

hurricanes. The following section 

utilizes data from NOAA to examine how hurricanes have aff ected 

the coastline population from 1960 

to 2008.

The hurricane data for this section 

come from NOAA’s Coastal Services 

Center, Historical Hurricane Tracks 

Web site (NOAA, 2009). Storm 

track data for both basins (Atlantic 

and Pacifi c) were restricted to 

include only tracks for hurricanes 

(Categories 1 through 5) that 

occurred during or after 1960. The 

hurricane paths were then superimposed onto a map of U.S. counties, 

and a radius was applied to each 

path to simulate an area each hurricane may have aff ected (Appendix 

Figure A). Coastline counties were 

regarded as experiencing a direct 

hit if they were within or crossed 

by the boundary of the simulated 

area. Based on these data, between 

1960 and 2008, the total number 

of hurricanes aff ecting coastline 

counties was 86.

WHAT IS A HURRICANE?

A type of tropical cyclone, a hurricane is an “intense tropical 

weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defi ned 

surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph...or 

higher” (NOAA, 1999). Hurricanes form in both the Atlantic and 

the northeast Pacifi c basins. The term “hurricane” was derived 

from the Spanish and Caribbean Indian words for evil spirits and 

big winds (NOAA, 1999).

The Saffi r-Simpson Hurricane Scale defi nes hurricane strength 

by categories, with Category 1 storms the weakest (74–95 mph) 

and Category 5 the strongest (winds greater than 155 mph). The 

category of the storm is not directly related to the damage the 

storm may cause (NOAA, 1999). “Frequently, the right side of a 

hurricane is the most dangerous in terms of storm surge, winds, 

and tornadoes” (NOAA, 1999).

Hurricanes in the northeast Pacifi c almost never hit the U.S. 

coastline because hurricanes tend to move in a west-northwest 

direction after forming. In the Atlantic, this motion often brings 

hurricanes to Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastline counties. In 

the northeast Pacifi c, a west-northwest track pushes hurricanes 

farther off shore, away from continental Pacifi c coastline counties. 

Also, along the country’s west coast, ocean temperatures rarely 

get above the lower 70s. These cool temperatures are not warm 

enough to sustain a hurricane’s strength (Landsea, 2007).

Sections of the North Carolina, 

Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana 

coastlines have experienced the 

most hurricanes since 1960 

(Figure 6). North Carolina, though 

farther north than Louisiana and 

Florida, is especially susceptible to 

hurricanes due to its barrier islands 

that extend east into the Atlantic 

Ocean. In contrast, coastline counties of all northeastern states, 

as well as Delaware, Maryland, 

Virginia, Georgia, and Hawaii 

experienced relatively few hurricanes, with only Suff olk County, 

New York, and Nantucket County, 

Massachusetts, experiencing more 

than three hurricanes between 

1960 and 2008. This pattern is 

attributable in part to Georgia’s 

small coastline and the curvature 

of the U.S. coastline, which situates 

Georgia farther to the west than 

the coastlines of Florida and North 

Carolina. Coastline counties north 

of North Carolina also have two 

natural buff ers against hurricanes. 

First, a hurricane will most likely 

have already made landfall before 

reaching these counties, and second, a hurricane that has not made 

landfall will have traveled over the 

cooler waters north of Florida, thus 

potentially reducing the hurricane 

to a tropical storm.
U.S. Census Bureau 19

MS AL GA

FL

SC

NC

VA

MD

DE

NJ

CT

RI

MA

NH

ME

NY

HI

TX

LA

Note: NohurricanesforAlaska, California,

OregonorWashingtoncoastlinecounties.

Source: NOAA Coastal ServicesCenter,

Historical HurricaneTracks: 1851to2008.

Atlantic Ocean

Gulf of Mexico

Number of hurricanes

11 or more

7 to 10

4 to 6

1 to 3

No hurricanes

Hurricanes impacting a 

coastline county between

1960 and 2008: 86

Note: There were no hurricanes for Alaska, California, Oregon, or Washington 

coastline counties.

Source: NOAA Coastal Services Center, Historical Hurricane Tracks: 1851 to 2008.

Figure 6.

Number of Hurricanes by Coastline County: 1960 to 2008
20 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 11.

Coastline Counties Most Frequently Hit by Hurricanes: 1960 to 2008

Rank County and state Coastline region

Number of 

hurricanes

Percent change in population Percent change in housing units

1960 to 2008 2000 to 2008 1960 to 2008 2000 to 2008

1 Monroe County, FL . . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 15 50.8 –9.2 221.8 4.3

2 Lafourche Parish, LA . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 14 67.2 2.9 151.5 8.9

2 Carteret County, NC . . . . . . . Atlantic 14 104.3 6.4 366.4 12.4

4 Dare County, NC . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 13 465.9 12.1 709.6 22.8

4 Hyde County, NC . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic 13 –10.1 –11.1 83.7 5.8

6 Jefferson Parish, LA . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 12 108.9 –4.2 201.4 –3.5

6 Palm Beach County, FL . . . . . Atlantic 12 454.7 11.9 616.9 15.2

8 Miami-Dade County, FL . . . . . Atlantic 11 156.5 6.4 180.6 14.9

8 St. Bernard Parish, LA . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 11 17.2 –43.9 –2.6 –67.9

8 Cameron Parish, LA . . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 11 4.8 –27.6 87.7 –8.1

8 Terrebonne Parish, LA . . . . . . Gulf of Mexico 11 78.7 3.9 179.4 11.0

Source: NOAA, Coastal Services Center, Historical Hurricane Tracks: 1851 to 2008.

Of the coastline counties most frequently hit by hurricanes, only one, 

Hyde County, North Carolina, had 

an overall decrease in population 

between 1960 and 2008 (Table 11). 

Furthermore, only one, St. Bernard 

Parish, Louisiana, experienced an 

overall decrease in housing units 

between 1960 and 2008. On average, the 11 coastline counties that 

were hit by 11 or more hurricanes 

between 1960 and 2008 increased 

in population by nearly 179 percent 

and had a housing unit increase of 

255 percent. 

Closer examination reveals that 

these 11 counties did not grow 

consistently throughout the 48-year 

period. Between 2000 and 2008, 

5 of the 11 counties decreased in 

population due largely to net outmigration (more people moving out 

of, rather than into, these 5 counties during that time). All 5 counties were hit by some of the most 

intense hurricanes since 1960.2

The 10 most intense hurricanes 

since 1960 aff ected nearly 51 

million people living in coastline 

2List derived from “The Deadliest, 

Costliest, and Most Intense United States 

Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006” 

(Blake, 2007).

counties. If those same 10 hurricanes had struck in 2008, the 

coastline population aff ected would 

have been closer to 70 million. 

Coastline counties hit by Hurricane 

Donna (1960) have seen the 

greatest population growth 

(116 percent) from the time the 

area was hit (Figure 7). Florida’s 

coastline counties aff ected by 

Hurricane Donna were some of the 

nation’s fastest-growing counties 

between 1960 and 2008. Coastline counties aff ected by Hurricane 

Carla (1961) may not have seen the 

most dramatic increase in numeric 

growth between 1960 and 2008, 

but this collection of counties grew 

by 90 percent, nearly doubling in 

population from 464,000 in 1960 

to 882,000 in 2008.

Hurricane Gloria (1985) aff ected 

the largest population (17 million) 

at the time it struck. This large 

population included residents 

of New York City’s fi ve boroughs; 

Boston, Massachusetts; Bridgeport, Connecticut; New Haven, 

Connecticut; and Providence, Rhode 

Island. The population aff ected 

by Hurricane Gloria in 1985 was 

larger than that of Hurricane 

Donna in 1960 (11 million), but by 

2008, the population of Hurricane 

Donna’s aff ected area (24 million) 

surpassed that of Hurricane Gloria 

(19 million).

Of the 10 most intense hurricanes 

between 1960 and 2006, only 

the coastline counties aff ected 

by Hurricane Katrina (2005) had 

an overall decrease in population 

(nearly 2 percent loss). The populations in coastline counties aff ected 

by Hurricanes Andrew (1992) and 

Opal (1995) have each grown 

by more than 20 percent in the 

decades since they hit. In contrast, 

even though Hurricane Rita (2005) 

occurred after Hurricane Katrina, 

the population in coastline counties aff ected by Hurricane Rita 

has grown slightly since 2005 

(1 percent growth). However, 3 

of the 6 coastline counties hit by 

Hurricane Rita had a lower population in 2008 than in 2005.
U.S. Census Bureau 21

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26

Notes:

For hurricanes prior to 1980, the population at the time of the hurricane reflects the decennial census population prior to the hurricane.

For hurricanes after 1980, the population at the time of the hurricane reflects the population as of July 1 of that year.

Sources:

Eric S. Blake, Edward N. Rappaport, and Christopher W. Landsea, NOAA/NWS/NCEP/TPC/National Hurricane Center, 2007, “The Deadliest, 

 Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006.” 

NOAA Coastal Services Center, Historical Hurricane Tracks:1851 to 2008.

U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.

(Sorted by 2008 population in affected area; population in millions)

Population 

Figure 7.

Population in Coastline Counties Affected by the 10 Most Intense 

U.S. Hurricanes Since 1960

Donna

(1960)

Gloria

(1985)

Katrina

(2005)

Andrew

(1992)

Charley

(2004)

Camille

(1969)

Opal

(1995)

Carla

(1961)

Rita

(2005)

Hugo

 (1989)

63 coastline counties affected in ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, VA, NC, FL

33 coastline counties affected in ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC

15 coastline counties affected in FL, AL, MS, LA

12 coastline counties affected in FL, LA

21 coastline counties affected in NC, SC, FL

9 coastline counties affected in AL, MS, LA

6 coastline counties affected in FL, AL

9 coastline counties affected in TX

6 coastline counties affected in FL, LA, TX

3 coastline counties affected in SC

2008 population

Approximate population at 

time of hurricane
22 U.S. Census Bureau

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. “Hurricane Basics.” 

1999. Available at <http://

hurricanes.noaa.gov/pdf

/hurricanebook.pdf>.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. “Historical Hurricane Tracks.” Coastal Services 

Center, Charleston, SC. 2009. Available at <http://csc-s-maps-q.csc

.noaa.gov/hurricanes/index.jsp>.

U.S. Census Bureau. Geographic 

Areas Reference Manual. 

Washington, DC. 1994. Available at 

<www.census.gov/geo/www/garm

.html>.

Wiley, Peter C. “NOAA’s List of 

Coastal Counties for the Bureau 

of the Census Statistical Abstract 

Series.” 2003. Available at 

<www.census.gov/geo/landview

/lv6help/coastal_cty.pdf>.

METHODOLOGY AND 

SOURCES OF DATA

This report used 100 percentcount decennial census data for 

the years 1960 through 2000, 

and estimates of the total population, total housing units, and the 

components of change for July 1, 

2008. The population universe 

is the resident population of the 

United States (50 states and the 

District of Columbia). Migration 

from outside the United States, 

including from Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Island Areas (American Samoa, 

the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands) and by the U.S. 

population abroad, was treated 

as international migration. The 

methodology used by the Census 

Bureau’s Population Estimates 

Program to produce population 

estimates for counties is available 

at <www.census.gov/popest

/topics/methodology/2008-st

-co-meth.pdf>. Each component of 

population change was estimated 

separately. All derived values were 

computed using unrounded data. 

For readability, most whole numbers in the text were rounded to 

the nearest hundred or thousand, 

and most decimal numbers were 

rounded to the nearest whole number. In the tables, whole numbers 

are unrounded or expressed in millions, and percentages are rounded 

to the nearest tenth.

ACCURACY AND 

RELIABILITY OF THE DATA 

Potential sources of nonsampling 

error in the population estimates 

process include: (1) potential errors 

(such as diff erential undercoverage 

or overcoverage by demographic 

characteristics) in the enumeration 

(e.g., Census 2000) that serves as 

the base of the postcensal estimates; and (2) potential errors in 

the components of change (such as 

births, deaths, domestic migration, 

and net international migration) 

used to carry forward the population estimates.

SUMMARY

Between 1960 and 2008, a faster 

growth in population and housing, a larger increase in population 

density, and a higher percentage 

of the population in metro areas 

distinguished the U.S. coastline 

from the rest of the country. Social, 

economic, and environmental factors continue to draw residents to 

coastline destinations. While the 

growth in some coastline areas has 

slowed, most coastline sections 

continue to fl ourish. Monitoring 

these population trends, including 

the demographic components of 

change, will reveal whether these 

patterns continue.

REFERENCES

Blake, Eric S., Edward N. Rappaport, 

and Christopher W. Landsea. “The 

Deadliest, Costliest, and Most 

Intense United States Tropical 

Cyclones from 1851 to 2006 

(And Other Frequently Requested 

Hurricane Facts).” National Weather 

Service, National Hurricane Center, 

Miami, FL, 2007. Available at 

<www.nhc.noaa.gov>.

Kruk, M. C., E. G. Gibney, D. H. 

Levinson, and M. Squires. “A 

Climatology of Inland Winds from 

Tropical Cyclones for the Eastern 

United States.” Journal of Applied 

Meteorology and Climatology. 

Forthcoming.

Landsea, Christopher W. “Why 

Do Hurricanes Hit the East 

Coast of the U.S., but Never the 

West Coast?” 2007. Available at 

<www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd

/tcfaq/G8.html>.
U.S. Census Bureau 23

CONTACTS

U.S. Census Bureau

Demographic Call Center Staff

Call 301-763-2422 or 

1-866-758-1060 (toll-free) or 

visit <ask.census.gov> for further 

information.

Steven G. Wilson

Thomas R. Fischetti

U.S. Census Bureau

Population Division

Population Distribution Branch

301-763-2419

steven.g.wilson@census.gov

thomas.fi schetti@census.gov

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Population estimates at the 

national, state, county, and city and 

town levels are produced each year 

by the Census Bureau’s Population 

Estimates Program and are available 

at <www.census.gov/popest

/estimates.html>. The Population 

Estimates Program publishes total 

population estimates each year for 

the nation, states, counties, and 

subcounty units (cities and minor 

civil divisions). For the nation, 

states, and counties, population 

estimates also include demographic components of change 

(births, deaths, and migration) and 

estimates by age, sex, race, and 

Hispanic origin. The reference date 

for population estimates is July 1.

USER COMMENTS

The Census Bureau welcomes the 

comments and advice of users of 

our data and reports. Please send 

suggestions or comments to:

Chief, Population Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, DC 20233-8800
24 U.S. Census Bureau

Appendix Table A.

Coastline Population by State: 1960 to 2008

Area

Year Change, 1960 to 2008

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 Number Percent

 United States . . . . . 179,323,175 203,211,926 226,545,805 248,709,873 281,421,906 304,059,724 124,736,549 69.6

 Coastline counties . . . 47,448,231 56,715,415 63,587,555 73,048,655 82,124,392 87,423,833 39,975,602 84.3

 Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,665,037 30,449,628 31,943,197 35,231,154 39,215,349 41,584,799 14,919,762 56.0

 Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . 5,562,984 6,936,997 9,149,249 10,723,973 12,557,407 13,920,664 8,357,680 150.2

 Pacifi c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,220,210 19,328,790 22,495,109 27,093,528 30,351,636 31,918,370 16,698,160 109.7

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439,851 464,883 548,040 623,198 682,814 713,357 273,506 62.2

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . 99,029 138,951 190,345 245,845 277,359 297,350 198,321 200.3

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . 2,597,027 2,862,290 2,932,393 3,095,930 3,317,771 3,414,730 817,703 31.5

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . 859,488 946,725 947,154 1,003,464 1,048,319 1,050,788 191,300 22.3

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,588,514 1,882,926 1,935,906 2,030,017 2,120,734 2,170,444 581,930 36.6

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,557,830 11,341,996 10,544,051 10,806,642 11,685,650 12,181,502 1,623,672 15.4

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,290,028 3,750,347 3,831,213 4,005,994 4,367,129 4,479,494 1,189,466 36.2

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446,292 548,104 594,338 666,168 783,600 873,092 426,800 95.6

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,026,229 2,294,049 2,399,856 2,582,753 2,761,143 2,911,538 885,309 43.7

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,325,584 1,683,387 1,967,642 2,487,459 2,827,481 3,050,717 1,725,133 130.1

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . 441,605 477,404 563,609 679,075 792,902 909,106 467,501 105.9

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . 403,667 441,785 532,498 621,683 742,274 877,921 474,254 117.5

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267,305 281,108 326,382 386,415 439,154 475,764 208,459 78.0

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,835,751 5,388,107 7,664,458 10,066,203 12,285,697 13,871,629 10,035,878 261.6

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363,389 376,690 443,536 476,923 540,258 580,748 217,359 59.8

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189,050 239,944 300,217 312,368 363,988 349,294 160,244 84.8

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,192,074 1,385,438 1,575,797 1,550,498 1,610,435 1,426,150 234,076 19.6

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,305,308 2,882,491 3,795,011 4,314,492 5,126,048 5,871,839 3,566,531 154.7

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,254,192 15,645,052 18,008,000 21,748,651 24,135,820 25,161,295 12,907,103 105.3

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371,256 426,780 538,930 550,921 611,645 643,872 272,616 73.4

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,785,633 2,245,116 2,649,169 3,227,795 3,863,160 4,250,984 2,465,351 138.1

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176,357 243,281 334,319 457,932 529,474 574,021 397,664 225.5

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632,772 768,561 964,691 1,108,229 1,211,537 1,288,198 655,426 103.6

 Noncoastline

 counties . . . . . . . . . . 131,874,944 146,496,511 162,958,250 175,661,218 199,297,514 216,635,891 84,760,947 64.3

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.
U.S. Census Bureau 25

Appendix Table B. 

Number of Counties and Population by Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) and 

Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) Status: 1960 and 2008

Year and area

Counties Population

Number Percent Number Percent

1960

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,133 100.0 179,323,175 100.0

Inside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 11.5 114,378,687 63.8

Outside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,772 88.5 64,944,488 36.2

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 100.0 47,448,231 100.0

Inside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 30.4 41,044,697 86.5

Outside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 69.6 6,403,534 13.5

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,880 100.0 131,874,944 100.0

Inside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 9.9 73,333,990 55.6

Outside SMSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,596 90.1 58,540,954 44.4

2008

 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,142 100.0 304,059,724 100.0

Inside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,786 56.8 284,820,163 93.7

 Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,092 34.8 254,189,924 83.6

 Inside micro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694 22.1 30,630,239 10.1

Outside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,356 43.2 19,239,561 6.3

 Coastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 100.0 87,423,833 100.0

Inside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 78.3 86,543,254 99.0

 Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 60.2 83,607,489 95.6

 Inside micro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 18.1 2,935,765 3.4

Outside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 21.7 880,579 1.0

 Noncoastline counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,888 100.0 216,635,891 100.0

Inside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,587 55.0 198,276,909 91.5

 Inside metro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939 32.5 170,582,435 78.7

 Inside micro area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 22.4 27,694,474 12.8

Outside CBSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,301 45.0 18,358,982 8.5

Note: Standard metropolitan statistical areas defi ned by the U.S. Bureau of the Budget as of November 1960. Metropolitan and micropolitan 

statistical areas defi ned by the U.S. Offi ce of Management and Budget as of November 2007.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
26 U.S. Census Bureau

Appendix Table C. 

Housing Units for Coastline Counties by State: 1960 to 2008

Area

Year Change, 1960 to 2008

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 Number Percent

 United States . . . . . . 58,326,357 68,679,030 88,411,263 102,263,678 115,904,641 129,065,264 70,738,907 121.3

 Coastline counties . . . . 16,078,943 19,658,915 25,325,352 29,824,580 33,016,371 36,250,384 20,171,441 125.5

Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,995,564 10,520,243 12,752,797 14,733,411 16,294,503 17,824,303 8,828,739 98.1

Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . 1,847,208 2,411,247 3,831,236 4,836,648 5,516,163 6,397,153 4,549,945 246.3

Pacifi c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,236,171 6,727,425 8,741,319 10,254,521 11,205,705 12,028,928 6,792,757 129.7

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185,603 201,238 258,566 306,712 350,552 383,142 197,539 106.4

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . 38,941 53,132 76,115 101,773 113,023 124,237 85,296 219.0

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . 900,839 994,900 1,175,398 1,321,676 1,404,389 1,466,029 565,190 62.7

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . 286,757 316,477 372,672 414,572 439,837 451,753 164,996 57.5

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516,258 609,107 723,740 817,488 858,157 891,469 375,211 72.7

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,604,093 3,960,411 4,128,835 4,256,505 4,530,831 4,716,123 1,112,030 30.9

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,137,918 1,319,239 1,517,020 1,671,927 1,781,964 1,900,530 762,612 67.0

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143,725 180,233 238,611 289,919 343,072 392,965 249,240 173.4

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621,032 743,173 908,602 1,050,271 1,173,433 1,265,341 644,309 103.7

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381,197 508,667 716,548 959,291 1,095,816 1,240,330 859,133 225.4

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . 131,226 161,681 238,503 323,037 403,252 491,868 360,642 274.8

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . 118,333 143,335 216,033 301,621 377,964 490,676 372,343 314.7

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,435 91,540 123,177 156,388 185,664 219,979 136,544 163.7

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,413,401 2,043,865 3,527,960 4,845,750 5,707,936 6,799,916 5,386,515 381.1

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,292 121,244 165,213 202,153 239,386 284,664 176,372 162.9

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,866 76,455 113,126 129,916 152,386 157,088 99,222 171.5

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365,261 443,380 588,068 642,713 667,931 574,640 209,379 57.3

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748,595 963,413 1,495,846 1,778,347 1,985,073 2,370,706 1,622,111 216.7

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,251,664 5,477,253 6,950,183 8,069,582 8,615,142 9,118,850 4,867,186 114.5

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128,046 152,125 230,209 244,607 285,363 307,811 179,765 140.4

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638,112 806,782 1,092,217 1,357,785 1,625,464 1,852,782 1,214,670 190.4

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,843 75,180 134,475 192,737 219,194 236,604 183,761 347.7

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165,506 216,085 334,235 389,810 460,542 512,881 347,375 209.9

 Noncoastline 

 counties . . . . . . . . . . . 42,247,414 49,020,115 63,085,911 72,439,098 82,888,270 92,814,880 50,567,466 119.7

Note: Data for 1960 to 2000 are as of April 1 of each year; data for 2008 are as of July 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census of Population and Housing: 1960 to 2000; Population Estimates Program: 2008.
U.S. Census Bureau 27

Numbers represent

approximate radii in

nautical miles on the

left and right sides 

of the track

Note: One nautical mile is equivalent to 1.2 statute miles or 1.9 kilometers.

Source: NOAA Coastal Services Center, Historical Hurricane Tracks: 1851 to 2008. 0 25 50 75

Nautical Miles

43

28.5

64

38

73

45

57

38

57

38

45 73

Appendix Figure A. 

Radii by Strength Category for Hurricane Rita

Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 5

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Hurricane track

99

99

99

99

99 99 99

99
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