‘Under 18’ Population of Forced-Unionism States Sank by Nearly 1.5 Million Over Past Decade

• 2012 State Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin

The evidence that Right to Work states are typically better places to form a household and raise a family than forced-unionism states is plain from the demographic data. Image: www.aisd.net

U.S. Census Bureau data released last week (see the link above) show that, from 2002 to 2012, as in previous 10-year periods, Right to Work states’ population-growth advantage over forced-unionism states was widest among children aged 17 and under.

In fact, the 27 states that lacked Right to Work laws throughout this period actually saw their “under 18” population decline from 42.665 million to 41.192 million over the past decade.  That amounts to a 3.5% decline.  Seventeen of the 27 forced-unionism states had fewer children residing in them in 2012 than 10 years earlier.  (Indiana, which became a Right to Work state in early 2012, is excluded.)

Meanwhile, the 22 states states that had Right to Work laws throughout the last decade saw their aggregate “under 18” population increase by 2.311 million, or 8.1%.  Among these 22 states, only Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi had fewer children in 2012 than a decade before.

The 11.6 percentage point Right to Work advantage in “under 18” population growth is substantially greater than Right to Work states’ aggregate 8.5 percentage point advantage in “18 and over” population growth.

And international immigration trends can’t account for the discrepancy.  In fact, forced-unionism states like California and New York actually saw their total juvenile populations decline despite taking in large numbers of immigrant young adults and children.

Whatever other advantages Right to Work states have over forced-unionism states, Census data clearly indicate that vast numbers of parents and prospective parents regard them as places where they can provide better lives for their children.