Where Americans are living.

• Position: Population is rising in United States

The 300-millionth American arrived on October 17, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It took only 39 years (1967 to 2006) for the nation's population to rise from 200 million to 300 million. And it is estimated that it will be sometime around 2050 when the population rises to 400 million.

But all regions of the country are not growing equally. For the past few decades, population has been falling in regions like the Northeast and Midwest while increasing rapidly in the Southeast and Southwest. (Growth of a particular region is usually driven less by birthrates than by an inflow of people from elsewhere in the U.S., or from abroad).

According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August, none of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the U.S. is in the Northeast.

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ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. What is the difference, in percentage points, between the increase in population in Flagler County, Fla., and Osceola County, Fla.

   (a) 12 (c) 20 (b) 18 (d) 24 2. If the growth rate of Douglas County, Colo. increased by three percentage points in 2006 and in each of the next four years, what would its population's growth rate be in 2010?

   (a) 57% (c) 59% (b) 45% (d) 66% 3. This graph shows a growth trend. But suppose there is a 10 percentage point drop in households in Delaware County, Ohio, between now...