People from the Intermountain West

Anonus

It seems like people who say they're from here just don't turn up much in other states. As Colorado is said to be a "high magnet/low sticky" state, I wonder if people who are from here ever do leave for bigger metros in other parts of the country, and especially east of the Mississippi.

glennmagusharvey

I think it's a mistake to categorize entire states by those metrics.  These are greatly swayed by population centers, economic booms and busts, and such.  They're really not accurate assessments of whole states.

The Denver area is doing very well these days from what I hear, and in transitioning to a higher-tech economy (as I remember reading that it has) it seems to be setting itself up to become or remain a major metro area for the foreseeable future.

Salt Lake City is probably closely following in Denver's footsteps.

Outside of those areas though, population growth is very much limited by the availability of jobs and water.

At least, this is what I think.

Anonus

Scarcity of jobs and water are definitely why the population is sparse in this region