New York State's population is at an all-time high, but its growth from 2000 to 2001 lagged behind 41 other states, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

As of July 2001, New York was home to an estimated 19,011,378 residents-the first time the state's population topped 19 million. That was up about 0.2 percent from the official census in April 2000. The U.S. population grew 1.2 percent during the same period, reaching 284.8 million in July 2001.

New York lost a net 249,636 residents in moves between states, according to the Census Bureau. The figure for net domestic migration represents the number who moved out of the state over and above the number of people who moved from other states to New York. The Empire State gained 159,126 residents from international immigration, and 125,926 in natural increase, or births compared to deaths.

The Empire State's growth over the year was higher than that in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Several other large, industrial states-including Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey-grew at more than twice the rate of New York. Nevada, the fastest-growing state in the nation for the past 15 years, led all states with a population increase of 5.4 percent. Four states lost population over the year.

A table showing 2001 population estimates, and increases from 2000 to 2001 for all the states, appears below. For the full data set from the Census Bureau, go to http://eire.census.gov/popest/estimates.php.