
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 6, 1995                   TAG: 9501070085
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ONLY 79,000 NEW VIRGINIANS IN '94

Virginia's population grew by a modest 1.2 percent last year, one of the smallest yearly increases in a decade of strong annual growth, the Census Bureau reported.

The change wasn't caused by a declining birthrate, census statisticians reported. Rather, fewer people moved to Virginia from other states and fewer military personnel were stationed at Virginia bases.

The state gained about 79,000 residents in 1994, bringing the total population to 6.5million people. Virginia is the nation's 12th most populous state.

Although Virginia's growth rate was slightly greater than the national average of 1 percent, it was the lowest rate of increase for the state in all but one of the past 12 years. In 1992, Virginia added 102,000 residents for a 1.6 percent growth rate; in 1993, the population increased by 1.3 percent.

``We don't fully understand what happened in Virginia,'' said Edwin Byerly, a statistician and demographer with the Census Bureau. ``Often it's the economy and taxes and real estate prices ... They are things that affect migration patterns.''

Byerly said the slower growth rate probably does not signal a downward population trend. Demographers predict the state will continue to grow in coming years, but at a slower rate.

Despite the drop, Virginia was the 10th fastest-growing state in the country last year.

In 1992, 19,000 more people moved to Virginia from other states than left, compared with only 6,000 in 1994. Last year, 10,000 military and government personnel were relocated to facilities in the state, compared with 20,000 in 1992.

``In most states it doesn't matter, but in Virginia, the number of people the government moves in and out is very significant for the population,'' Byerly said.

The state also had a net increase of 14,000 people from foreign countries, representing 2 percent of the nation's population growth from immigration in 1994.

Between 1990 and 1993, the average Virginia jurisdiction saw a population increase of 4.9 percent, said University of Virginia demographer Julia Martin.

by CNB