Immigration and Declines in Death Cause Uptick in US Population Growth This Year; US Population Growth Sees Slight Uptick From Fewer Deaths, Rebounding Immigration in 2023; South Dominates US Population Gains

Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP

Immigration and declines in death cause uptick in US population growth this year:

The number of immigrants to the U.S. jumped to the highest level in two decades this year, driving the nation’s overall population growth, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The United States added 1.6 million people, more than two-thirds of which came from international migration, bringing the nation’s population total to 334.9 million. It marks the second year in a row that immigration powered population gains.

A decline in the number of deaths since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the U.S. growth rate.

Population gains stem from immigration and births outpacing deaths.

After immigration declined in the latter half of last decade and dropped even lower amid pandemic-era restrictions, the number of immigrants last year bounced back to almost 1 million people. The trend continued this year as the nation added 1.1 million people.

The last time immigration surpassed 1.1 million people was in 2001, according to Census Bureau figures compiled by William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution.

It is a sign of things to come. Without immigration, the U.S. population is projected to decline as deaths are forecast to outpace births by the late 2030s.

“The immigration piece is going to be the main source of growth in the future,” Frey said.

The census determines how many U.S. congressional seats each state gets. If trends continue through the 2030 count, California could lose four U.S. House seats and New York three. Texas could gain four seats and Florida could add three, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. --->READ MORE HERE

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

US population growth sees slight uptick from fewer deaths, rebounding immigration in 2023:

The United States population increased over the past year as a result of fewer deaths and immigration returning to pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. Census Bureau found.

The country gained more than 1.6 million people in 2023, growing by 0.5 percent to nearly 335 million. That was the largest increase in population growth since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“U.S. migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and a drop in deaths are driving the nation’s growth,” said Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau demographer, in a Tuesday statement.

From July 2022 to July 2023, births declined, but so did deaths, Wilder noted. Paired with immigration rebounding, the country saw its largest population gain since 2018.

The increase is still relatively low historically, but it outranks the 0.4 percent increase in 2022 and the 0.2 percent increase in 2021.

Eighty-seven percent of the nation’s population growth happened in the South. --->READ MORE HERE

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