February 202

 

U.S. Census releases new population growth stats

The U.S. continued years of very little population growth in 2025. The culprit has always been low birth rates, but today, stagnant, almost zero immigration gains added to the mix of declines last year.  According to the Census, between July 2024 and July of 2025, population increased 1.8 million persons in the U.S. That is a rate of 0.5 percent. It’s the slowest growth in the U.S. since 2021’s rate of 0.2 percent. In 2024, the population grew by 1.0 percent, which, according to the Census, was the fastest year-over-year growth since 2005. 

 

The top five fastest-growing states during the period were South Carolina (1.46 percent); Idaho (1.44 percent); North Carolina (1.32 percent); Texas (1.25 percent) and Utah (1.03 percent). 

 

Regionally, the American South led all regions in population growth from July 2024 to July 2025

 

U.S. Regional Growth Rates

South: 0.66 percent

West: 0.59 percent

Midwest: 0.45 percent

Northeast: 0.23 percent

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, July 2024-July 2025

 

Over half of the leading business startup states in the United States are in the South

Recent data from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows that startup businesses in the U.S. are being led by states in the American South. Here are the figures regarding startup increases from Q2 2010 to Q1 2025, or 15 years compiled by Southern Business & Development. 

 

It should be noted that a reading of 12.0 or higher means there were more than 12 more startups each year on average for every 100 that existed from Q2 2010 to Q1 in 2025. 

 

The South was led by Mississippi with 13.2 startups, North Carolina and South Carolina with 12.3, Tennessee with 12.2, Texas with 12.8, Georgia with 12.7 and Florida with 12.7. Louisiana was the slowest state in the South with the least number of startups in 15 years at 8.8 percent. 

 

Average startup gains from Q1 2010 to Q2 2015

South: 11.2 percent

West: 9.6 percent

Northeast: 8.4 percent

Midwest: 7.3 percent

Texas and Florida at the top of the heap again in 2025 migration trends

The annual U-Haul Growth Index saw Texas and Florida, the South’s two most populated states, sit at the top nationwide in one-way moves (individual and family relocations). 

 

Like 2024, 2025 saw the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington mega-market lead the nation in growing metros. Texas also claimed the top three metros at the top of the Index. In addition to D-FW, those were Houston and Austin. In Florida, for the third time in four years, Ocala topped the U-Haul Growth Index as the No. 1 U.S. growth city proper. Lakeland also saw a tremendous influx of one-way moves. 

 

Top Metros in the U.S. 2025 according to the U-Haul Growth Index

 

1. Dallas, Texas 
2. Houston, Texas 
3. Austin, Texas
4. Charlotte, N.C. 
5. Phoenix, Ariz.
6. Nashville, Tenn. 
7. Charleston, S.C.
8. Raleigh, N.C.
9. Atlanta, Ga.
10. Brownsville, Texas
11. McAllen, Texas

 

Alabama

 

121-year-old manufacturer to invest nearly $800 million to expand in the shadows of downtown Birmingham

American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) has been producing product since 1905 in Birmingham, still a center for the metals industry. ACIPCO announced in January it will invest $793 million to switch the company’s operations to electric-fired furnaces, reducing emissions by more than 90 percent. About 80 new jobs paying over $100,000 a year will be added to the deal. Jefferson County approved $320,000 worth of incentives for the project. 

 

New $119 million facility in north Alabama to create 350 jobs

SPX Enterprises is developing a $118 million plant in Huntsville to produce large-scale cooling and air-handling equipment for data centers. The deal will create 350 jobs. 

 

Blue Origin to expand in Huntsville, increase capacity for rocket thrusters

Space launch firm Blue Origin is investing over $71 million to expand its operations in Cummings Research Park and Jetplex Industrial Park. The project will create 105 jobs. 

 

 

Arkansas 

 

Southwest Power Pool to invest in Arkansas

SPP is investing $150 million to expand it electric grid services in Little Rock. The expansion will create 165 jobs. 

 

Another billion-dollar-plus data center; this one in Arkansas

AVAIO Digital Partners announced in January it will locate a $6 billion data center in Pulaski County, Ark., near Little Rock. The campus will host the computing, networking, data storage technologies and power infrastructure that underpin cloud computing and artificial intelligence applications. The new data center campus is expected to ultimately create more than 500 full-time permanent operations jobs over the next five years as the campus is built out. In addition, the construction phase will bring thousands of new jobs in the region.

 

Florida 

 

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has announced a significant $550 million expansion of its Jacksonville facilities, which will include manufacturing upgrades and new packaging and distribution. The project will create 50 new jobs. 

 

Wells Fargo is relocating the headquarters of its wealth management business from San Francisco to West Palm Beach, bringing more than 50 senior executives to South Florida. The bank’s wealth management division has leased about 50,000 square feet in WPB and expects to house 100 workers in time. 

 

 

New shipbuilder for Bay County, Fla. 

Canada-based Voltari Electric, a global leader in electric marine and autonomous vessel technology, has selected Bay County as the location for its U.S. headquarters, manufacturing operations, and research and development center. Formerly known as Project Kilowatt, this project includes the acquisition and redevelopment of an existing shipyard and represents a $37.5 million capital investment. The project is expected to create 285 new, high-wage jobs. The vessels that Voltari plans to build will use advanced electric propulsion systems with marine-grade high-kW battery manufacturing, carbon fiber hulls, software, and autonomous/unmanned technologies (USV) for the defense, government fleet, commercial and leisure industries.

 

U.K.-based manufacturer selects Escambia, Fla., for HQ and manufacturing hub

Field International, which provides engineering, tooling and ground support for a variety of industries including aerospace and energy, has selected Escambia County for its new United States headquarters and manufacturing operation. The company has operations in the United Kingdom, India, China and Singapore. The $8 million project will create 50 jobs. 

 

Georgia

 

 

Toyota Financial Services to establish new service center in Alpharetta and will create 150 Jobs

Toyota Financial Services will open a new office in Alpharetta to become the company’s East Dealer Service Center. The investment of more than $8 million will bring 150 new jobs to Fulton County.

 

Kentucky

 

 

Louisiana

 

Big deal in Louisiana

ATALCO will establish an alumina production facility in Gramercy with a $450 million investment. The plant will be the country’s first large-scale gallium plant and is a partnership with the U.S. government. 

 

 

Company finalizes agreement for entertainment redevelopment in Shreveport

G-Unit Film & Television Louisiana, LLC (“G-Unit”) has announced plans to invest over $124 million in a multi-phase initiative to develop three entertainment industry-related venues in Northwest Louisiana, revitalizing existing assets back into commerce and supporting the growth of the state’s entertainment industry. The project includes the renovation of the former Stageworks facility to support a variety of live event and production entertainment uses, the modernization of the former Millennium Studios campus to enhance production capabilities and the construction of a dome-style immersive venue and green space park, all located within downtown Shreveport.

 

Mississippi

 

xAI investing more than $20 billion in Southhaven, Miss. 

U.S.-based and Elon Musk-owned xAI is locating a data center in Southaven, located near Memphis. Musk already has super-computing operations in Memphis. Google is also building a large data center across the river in West Memphis, Ark. 

The Southaven-DeSoto County data center, which will create hundreds of permanent jobs, will be known as MACROHARDRR, and is being created from an existing building being retrofitted near xAI’s newly acquired power plant in Southaven. When completed, the latest xAI data center will increase the company’s computing power to nearly 2 gigawatts. 

 

North Carolina

 

Genentech (Swiss/California-based drug maker) will invest $2 billion in Holly Springs, N.C., to produce next-generation anti-obesity drugs. The deal will create 500 high-wage manufacturing jobs and 1,500 construction jobs.

 

 

HVAC supplier to invest $40 million in Greensboro, N.C. 

Hoffman & Hoffman, a supplier of commercial HVAC systems and products, will create 131 jobs in Guilford County. The company will invest $40 million to expand its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations in the city of Greensboro.

 

Johnson & Johnson to build second major facility in Wilson County, N.C. 

Johnson & Johnson, the world-leading healthcare company, will expand its presence in North Carolina. The company says it will make an additional multi-billion-dollar investment in the City of Wilson. According to J&J, the project is estimated to create up to 500 new jobs at a state-of-the-art drug product manufacturing facility that will help deliver transformational medicines for oncology and neurological diseases. This marks the third time in just over a year that Johnson & Johnson has selected North Carolina’s life sciences cluster to help meet its goal of manufacturing the majority of its advanced medicines in the U.S. to support the needs of U.S. patients. 

 

In October 2024, J&J announced its first project in Wilson, a $2 billion investment that will create 420 jobs on a pharmaceutical manufacturing campus for innovative biologics. Construction of that facility is underway, and the company reports it is already ramping up the hiring of advanced manufacturing employees. 

 

In August 2025, the company secured a new 160,000-square-foot site in Holly Springs dedicated to biopharmaceutical manufacturing. That $2 billion commitment over the next 10 years will create 120 new jobs, according to the company.

 

“I appreciate Johnson & Johnson’s confidence that North Carolina is an ideal place to expand their business and create more good-paying jobs,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Life sciences leaders continue to select North Carolina because our skilled workforce and commitment to specialized training deliver the talent companies need to help patients in the United States and around the world.”

 

Oklahoma

 

Emirates Global Aluminum and Century Aluminum Company announced that they have entered into a joint development agreement to build the first new primary aluminum production plant in the United States since 1980. The new plant, to be built in Inola as previously announced by EGA, is expected to produce 750,000 tons of aluminum per year, larger than previously envisioned and more than doubling current U.S. production. The Inola plant will create 1,000 permanent direct jobs at the facility and 4,000 jobs during construction.  

 

Francis Energy announces supercharger upgrade at Crest Fresh Market in Norman, Okla.

Francis Energy, a provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the central United States, announced the upgrade of its charging site at Crest Fresh Market in Norman. The upgraded site leverages Tesla’s technology to deliver improved reliability, streamlined navigation planning and a consistently high-quality charging experience for all EV owners. The $7 million investment will create 40 new jobs.  

 

South Carolina

 

Cyclic Materials to invest $82 million in South Carolina

Canada-based Cyclic Materials, a leader in recycling solutions for rare earth elements, announced it selects Chesterfield County to establish its first East Coast operation. The over $82 million investment will create 90 highly skilled jobs.

 

Food fiber plant goes to rural South Carolina

JGB Brothers, a food fibers manufacturer, announced it is establishing operations in Bamberg County. The company’s $7 million investment will create 40 new jobs. The manufacturing site will be used to produce plant-sourced food fibers, which are used as additives in human and pet food, and have extensive applications for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and building materials. 

 

Tennessee

 

Nuclear fuel supplier will invest more than $560 million to expand its Oak Ridge facility

Nuclear fuel supplier Centrus Energy plans a major expansion in East Tennessee, transitioning its Oak Ridge facility to a high-rate manufacturing plant. As part of the expansion, Centrus plans to create nearly 430 new jobs and invest more than $560 million in Anderson County over the next several years to support both the growth in workforce and investment in the production of thousands of advanced centrifuges.

 

Laser Isotope Separation Technologies expanding in Roane County

LIS Technologies will create 203 jobs and invest $1.38 billion in an Oak Ridge, Tenn., facility on the formerly named Duct Island. This announcement marks the third-largest nuclear-related investment since the creation of TNECD’s Nuclear Energy Fund.

 

Texas

 

Bezos’ Blue Origin, has its eyes on Texas

Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded and backed by Jeff Bezos, is reportedly eyeing Central Texas for a major aerospace project valued at nearly $1 billion. The planned investment would involve building a large-scale manufacturing and logistics hub in the Austin region. Blue Origin’s search is reportedly focused on about 100 acres of land within 15 miles of Interstate 35, with about 20 acres for manufacturing and 80 acres for logistics operations. If the deal comes through, it could bring over 2,000 jobs over the course of five years to the Austin area according to several sources. Blue Origin already has a major launch site in Van Horn, Texas. 

 

Atlanta-based Together Work to plant flag in Austin, hire 100

The software firm has opened a new office in Austin that supports a hybrid work model. Together Work builds software solutions that help organizations with recruitment, registration, payments and fundraising, serving more than 70,000 clients and over 100 million users through its platforms. 

 

AT&T HQ to leave downtown Dallas for Plano

AT&T is relocating its global headquarters from downtown Dallas to a 54-acre site in Plano. Construction and transition are expected to take place through 2028, with partial occupancy targeted for the second half of 2028. AT&T has said it will consolidate several North Texas offices (Dallas, Plano, Irving) into the new campus, which will house thousands of employees, including the 6,000 at its current headquarters in downtown Dallas.

 

“Flagship” solar manufacturing facility has opened in Texas

Japanese solar company TOYO has opened its solar-module plant in Humble, Texas, just north of Houston. The 567,000-square-foot facility will house 750 workers.  

 

Google moves into the Sail Tower in Austin after all

Google has begun occupying downtown Austin’s Sail Tower, officially ending years of the building sitting mostly dark despite the company leasing the entire space. Let me repeat that: the entire space of a 35-story building. The building at 601 West Second Street is humming with workers indicating a real move-in by Google. That activity started late in 2025 and is continuing in early 2026. The Sail Tower broke ground in 2019 and was finished in 2022. Google’s lease, if they wish to renew it, runs until 2038. 

 

$500 million investment made in Bee Cave, Texas

Advanced space communications company CesiumAstro plans to invest more than $500 million in a new, high-tech advanced manufacturing facility and global headquarters in Bee Cave, Texas. The project will create more than 500 new jobs in the next five years. The company’s work includes aviation, aerospace and the defense industries. 

 

Tekscend Photomask expands in Round Rock, Texas

Tekscend Photomask is expanding its photomask production in the Austin MSA in Round Rock. The project will represent a $223 million investment and create 50 new jobs. The photomasks are used in the production of semiconductors. 

 

Virginia

 

Federal court grants Dominion injunction, allowing offshore wind construction to proceed

Dominion Energy‘s $11.2 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach, ordered to pause by President Trump in December 2025, has now been allowed to resume. 

 

Plant expansion announced in Danville, Va. 

Infinity Global, an international leader in high-end packaging solutions, plans to expand operations at its Danville headquarters with a $34 million investment, which will more than double the company’s Virginia workforce, creating 150 new jobs.

 

Company investing in Chesterfield County, Va. 

Solstice Advanced Materials announced plans in the winter to invest over $220 million in multiple projects to expand operations at the company’s existing ballistic fiber manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County. Upon completion, the expansion will create 100 new jobs in the Commonwealth. Solstice Advanced Materials is a specialty materials company that offers high-performance solutions that enable critical industries and applications, including refrigerants, semiconductor manufacturing, data center cooling, nuclear power, protective fibers, healthcare packaging and more.