US Population Growth Slowest Since 2020 Due to Declining Immigration

U.S. population growth has slowed to just 0.5 percent growth between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025.

According to a press release from the U.S. Census Bureau, “This was the nation’s slowest population growth since the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the population grew by a historically low 0.2% in 2021. The slowdown also comes after a sizeable uptick of growth in 2024, when the country added 3.2 million people and grew by 1.0%, the fastest annual population growth rate since 2006.”

The bureau attributes the slowdown to a “historic decline in net international migration,” which decreased from 2.7 million to 1.3 million.

The Midwest was the only region where all states gained population. South Carolina is the nation’s fastest-growing state, with a 1.5 percent increase in population between 2024 and 2025. Idaho, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah also saw net population growth of over 1 percent. “The South saw population growth drop below 1.0% for the first time since 2021, from 1.4% growth between 2023 and 2024 to 0.9% growth between July 2024 and July 2025.”