Alabama added nearly 50,000 people in the last year – and out-of-state transplants are driving much of the growth, new Census data shows.

Madison County in north Alabama continues to boom, adding an average of 10,000 people each year since 2019. And down south, Baldwin County welcomed a new high of just over 8,000 residents last year.

Nyesha Black, at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economics Research , said both of those areas are attracting new residents for different reasons: Economic development in Huntsville is bringing in new workers, while Baldwin County’s beaches are attracting a growing population of retirees.

Meanwhile, metros in Jefferson County, Montgomery and Mobile are slowly climbing back after losing population during 2020 and 2021.

“I think that

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