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A "Welcome to Oregon" sign in Umatilla.

(Oregon Department of Transportation)

Oregon grew by nearly 70,000 residents over the last year, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The bureau said the state reached an estimated population of 4.09 million as of July 1.

That's a 1.71 percent increase from 2015, making Oregon the sixth fastest-growing state by percentage. Most of the increase -- about 80 percent -- comes from new arrivals moving from other states. Most of the rest can be attributed to natural increase -- that is, births exceeding deaths.

It was also the ninth fastest-growing state on a numeric basis, and the lowest-population state to break that top 10.

Oregon sits between No. 5 Washington state, which grew by 1.78 percent, and No. 7 Colorado, which grew by 1.68 percent. The nation's fastest growing state was Utah, which gained 61,000 residents, a 2.03 percent increase.

The West was the nation's fastest-growing region, followed by the South. The Midwest and Northeast grew only slightly.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus