| Regional statistics | |
|---|---|
| Composition | Alabama Arizona California Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi Nevada New Mexico South Carolina Texas |
| Demonym | Sun Belter |
| Population - Total - Density |
109,073,023 (2008 est.)[1] |
| Largest city | Los Angeles (pop. 3,792,621) |
| Largest Metropolitan Area | Greater Los Angeles (pop. 18,880,000 as of 2009 estimate) |
The Sun Belt, or Spanish Belt, is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest (the geographic southern United States). Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. It is the largest region which the U.S government does not recognize officially (in its postal regions and census). The main defining feature of the Sun Belt is its warm-temperate climate with extended summers and brief, relatively mild winters; Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas, however, have a true subtropical climate.
The Belt has seen substantial population growth in recent decades (1960s to recent) fueled by milder winters; a surge in retiring baby boomers who migrate domestically; and the influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal. This population boom has been less substantial in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama compared with their western and eastern neighbor states. Also, over the past several decades, air conditioning has made it easier for people to deal with the heat in portions of the region during the summertime. Water shortages are becoming a common problem in the region.[2]
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The Belt comprises the southern tier of the United States and is usually considered to include the states of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, roughly half of California (up to Greater Sacramento), and at least parts of Arkansas, North Carolina, and southern Nevada; more expansively, Colorado, Oklahoma, Virginia and Utah (and all of California and Nevada) are sometimes considered as Sun Belt states.[3][4]
Author and political analyst Kevin Phillips claims to have coined the term "to describe the oil, military, aerospace and retirement country stretching from Florida to California" in his 1969 book The Emerging Republican Majority.[5]
The term "Sun Belt" became synonymous with the southern third of the nation in the early 1970s. There was a shift in this period from the previously economically and politically important northeast to the south and west. Events such as the huge migration of immigrant workers from Mexico, warmer climate, and a boom in the agriculture industry allowed for the southern third of the U.S.A. to grow economically. The climate spurred not only agricultural growth, but also saw many retirees move into retirement communities in the region, especially in Florida and Arizona.
Industries such as aerospace, defense and oil boomed in the Sun Belt as companies took advantage of the low involvement of labor unions in the south (due to more recent industrialization; 1930's through 1950's) and enjoyed the proximity to many U.S. military installations who were the major consumers of their products. The oil industry helped propel southern states such as Texas and Louisiana forward, and tourism grew in Florida and southern California as well. In more recent decades high tech and new economy industries have been major drivers of growth in California, Florida and some other parts of the Sun Belt. Texas and California rank among the top five states in the nation with the most number of Fortune 500 companies, with New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five.
Since 1970, the Belt states have gained 25 electoral votes. Since Lyndon B. Johnson's election in 1964, every elected United States President, with the exception of Barack Obama from Illinois, has been from the Sun Belt. (Gerald Ford, who was from Michigan, became president following Richard Nixon's resignation, but was not elected as president, and lost to Georgia's Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election.)
As of 2005 the U.S. Census Bureau projected that approximately 88% of the U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2030 will occur in the Sun Belt.[6] California, Texas, and Florida are each expected to add more than 12 million people during that time which will make these by far the most populous states in the nation. Arizona, North Carolina, and Metropolitan Atlanta are also expected to make major population gains. Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and Texas are expected to be the fastest growing states.
Events leading up to and including the 2008-2009 recession have led many to question whether growth projections for the Sun Belt have been overstated.[7] The economic bubble that led to the recession appears, to many observers, to have been more acute in the Sun Belt than many other parts of the country. Additionally the traditional lure of cheaper labor markets in the belt compared to many of the older industrial centers has been eroded by the overseas outsourcing trend of the recent decade.
One of the greatest threats facing the Belt in the coming decades is water shortages.[8] Communities in California are making plans to build potentially multiple desalination plants to supply fresh water and avert near-term crises.[9] Texas, Georgia and Florida also face increasingly serious shortages because of their rapidly expanding populations.[10]
The environment in the Belt is extremely valuable, not only to local and state governments, but to the Federal Government. Eight of the ten states have extremely high biodiversity (ranging from 3,800 to over 6700 species, not including marine life).[11] The Sun Belt also has the highest number of distinct ecosystems: chaparral, deciduous, desert, grasslands, and tropical rainforest. From the marshes on Florida's mainland to its extensive coral reefs, this state leads in the region and the entire U.S. for its supreme diversity in animal and plant species.
Some of the most endangered species live within the Belt[12][13] and include:
It has been said that with strict enforcement through many environmental laws, some species that are endangered in the Sun Belt will regain a better title, such as the American Alligator.[14]
| Name | Population (million) |
GMP (US$ billion) |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Los Angeles | 18.88 (2009 est.) | $697.9 |
| Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex | 6.8 (2009 est.) | $379.9 |
| Greater Houston | 5.96 (2009 est.) | $403.2 |
| Metro Atlanta | 5.83 (2009 est.) | $269.8 |
| Greater Miami | 5.54 (2009 est.) | $261.3 |
| Phoenix Metro | 4.36 (2009 est.) | $187.4 |
| San Diego metropolitan area | 3.05 (2009 est.) | $169.3 |
| International regions | ||
| San Diego–Tijuana | 5.0 (2009 est.) | $176 |
| El Paso–Juárez | 2.5 (2005 est.) | |
The three largest metropolitan areas are the Greater Los Angeles Area, Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, and Greater Houston. The Greater Los Angeles Area is by far the largest Metropolitan area with almost 18.7 million inhabitants as of 2009. The eight largest metropolitan areas are found in the states of California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Arizona.[15] Additionally the cross-border metrolitan areas of San Diego - Tijuana and El Paso - Juárez lie partially within this belt. Seven of the ten largest cities in the U.S. are located in the Sun Belt: Los Angeles (2nd), Houston (4th), Phoenix (5th), San Antonio (7th), San Diego (8th), Dallas (9th), and Jacksonville (10th).
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