CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia was one of six states to lose population in the latest estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The results, released Tuesday, provided population estimates from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014. According to the estimates, West Virginia lost 3,269 residents over that 12-month period. That was a drop of 0.18 percent — the highest percentage population drop among the 50 states.

Only Illinois — which lost nearly 10,000 residents — lost more total residents than the Mountain State. Other states that lost population were Connecticut, New Mexico, Alaska and Vermont.

North Dakota, which has seen a boom in the oil and gas industry, was the fastest-growing state in the nation. North Dakota’s population grew by 2.2 percent, according to the Census. Despite that, North Dakota remains one of the least-populated states; its 739,000 residents ranks it fourth from the bottom.

The next nine fastest-growing states were all in the South or the West, led by Texas and Nevada with 1.7 percent growth…