Feeling a bit more crowded these days?

Only five states drew more new residents between July 1,2014, and July 1, 2015, than North Carolina, which had more than 102,000 people.

As a result, the Tar Heel state has become only the ninth to top 10 million in population thanks to an average daily influx of 281 people, according to a new estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. North Carolina is the ninth largest state, and it drew the sixth highest number of new residents, the report says.

The estimated total: 10,042,802.

A recent report from the N.C. Department of Commerce describes North Carolina “beset with challenges,” but also “rich with opportunities.”

And the state’s appeal as a place to live and work as cited by numerous surveys over the years apparently isn’t fading.

“North Carolina’s population gain over the July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2015, period ranked it behind only Texas, Florida, California, Georgia and Washington,” the Census Bureau reports.

California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia also top 10 million.

In contrast, seven states lost population during the survey time span: Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut, Mississippi, Maine, Vermont and New Mexico.

Overall, the Census Bureau says the U.S. population grew by 0.79 percent to 321.4 million, which was slightly faster than the previous year.

North Carolina continues to attract new residents even though the state’s jobless rate is slightly higher than the national average.

The unemployment rate held steady in November at 5.7 percent, but the Commerce Department noted that last month’s jobless rate was up 0.2 percent from one year ago. The national rate is 5 percent.

The number of people employed increased by 15,466 between October and November, to 4.5 million. That’s an increase of 133,800 jobs over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 2,015 over the month, to 270,977, but was up 15,615 from November 2014.

The 10 Most Populous States on July 1, 2015

Rank, State, Population

1 California 39,144,818
2 Texas 27,469,114
3 Florida 20,271,272
4 New York 19,795,791
5 Illinois 12,859,995
6 Pennsylvania 12,802,503
7 Ohio 11,613,423
8 Georgia 10,214,860
9 North Carolina 10,042,802
10 Michigan 9,922,576

The 10 Fastest-Growing States from July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2015 by percentage

Rank, State, Percent Change

1 North Dakota 2.28
2 Colorado 1.89
3 District of Columbia 1.88
4 Nevada 1.85
5 Florida 1.84
6 Texas 1.82
7 Utah 1.75
8 Washington 1.52
9 Arizona 1.48
10 Oregon 1.45

The 10 States with the Largest Numeric Increase from July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2015 by number

Rank, State, Numeric Increase

1 Texas 490,036
2 Florida 365,703
3 California 352,527
4 Georgia 117,728
5 Washington 107,185
6 North Carolina 102,415
7 Colorado 100,986
8 Arizona 99,282
9 South Carolina 66,986
10 Oregon 57,775