The Sun Belt

The Sun Belt is a region of the southeastern and southwestern United States, generally south of the 36 degree 30 minute north latitude line, including states such as Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas along with parts of California, Arkansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah. Its climate ranges from desert and semi-desert conditions in the Southwest through Mediterranean conditions in California to humid subtropical conditions across the Southeast and tropical conditions in South Florida. Growth in the Sun Belt has been driven by aerospace, defense, oil, tourism, and technology industries, aided by lower rates of labor unionization and proximity to military installations, and the largest metropolitan areas of the region include Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, and Miami. Migration driven by warm weather, the spread of air conditioning, and economic opportunity accelerated after the Second World War and has continued into the present, with the Census Bureau projecting in 2005 that about 88 percent of the nation's population growth through 2030 would occur in the Sun Belt.