New York’s population grew more slowly than 45 other states between 2006 and 2007, new population numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

The numbers, released on December 27 by the Census Bureau, show that New York’s population grew by only 0.08 percent between July 2006 and July 2007—ahead of only four other states and far below the national average growth rate of 0.96 percent.

New York retained its standing as the third most populous state in the nation behind California and Texas. Florida is quickly gaining ground on New York, however. The Sunshine State experienced above-average population growth over the past year, putting its population at more than 18.2 million—about one million less than New York.

The Empire State continued to be a top destination for immigrants to the United States. The state became home to 111,607 international immigrants between July 2006 and July 2007—nearly 11 percent of the total number of immigrants to the U.S. in that time period and second only to California.

But the state continued to lose population through internal migration. Nearly 200,000 New Yorkers moved to other states between 2006 and 2007—only California lost more of its residents.

Nevada led the nation in population growth, showing a population increase of 2.93 percent between 2006 and 2007. Michigan and Rhode Island were the only two states to experience net population decreases during the same time period.

The Census Bureau population numbers are available at www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/011109.html.