Dr. Steve Murdock, the state demographer, said the census data revealed a vivid portrait of how Texas was being transformed.

"I'm not sure if history is going to help us with this because we've never had anything like it," said Karen Paterson, the state demographer.

Steven H. Murdock, the state demographer for Texas, said, "In some sense, Texas is a preview of what the nation will become in the long run."

In New York, Mr. Scardamalia, the state demographer there, said there were so many questions about the counts that he and others had begun looking more closely.

"We see retirees as tourists who stay longer," said James Westkott, a state demographer for Colorado, which has had a surge of "interim retirees," affluent boomers who are enjoying active retirement in their 50's.

According to Dr. Wu, the state demographer, the major age groups that New Jersey is losing to other states are the over-60's and those in their teens and early 20's.

Elizabeth Hoag, a senior state demographer, said a small dropoff in the rate of migration from other states began in early December, adding, "But it's been nothing dramatic."

The state demographer expects the borough to grow very slowly over the next twenty years.

The state demographer, Jim Westkott, said he thought even those numbers might underestimate the growth.

Other projections computed by state demographers suggest that by 2020, Queens will overtake Brooklyn as the most populous borough.