Population Growth in U.S. Slowed by 0.5% Between July '24 and '25
Washington, DC, January 28, 2026-Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to the new Vintage 2025 population estimates released today by 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 slowdown in U.S. population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau. “With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”
Slower population growth was felt across the country. All four census regions and every state except Montana and West Virginia saw their growth slow, or their decline accelerate.
Midwest’s Population Growing Again
The Midwest was the only region where all states gained population from July 2024 to July 2025. In addition, after experiencing population decline in 2021 and small growth in 2022, the Midwest’s population grew solidly in 2023 (259,938), 2024 (386,231), and 2025 (244,385). Slight gains in natural change (births minus deaths) for some of the states in the Midwest contributed to their population growth.
“From July 2024 through June 2025, the Midwest also saw positive net domestic migration for the first time this decade,” said Marc Perry, senior demographer at the Census Bureau. “And while the net domestic migration was a relatively modest 16,000, this is still a notable turnaround from the substantial domestic migration losses in 2021 and 2022 of -175,000 or greater.”
Ohio (net domestic migration of 11,926 in 2025, compared to -32,482 in 2021) and Michigan (net domestic migration of 1,796 in 2025, compared to -28,290 in 2021) exemplify this emerging trend.
South Carolina is the Nation’s Fastest-Growing State
Fueled by a sizeable net domestic migration increase of 66,622, South Carolina’s population grew by 79,958 between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025. The increase of 1.5% was the highest of any state and was down somewhat from its 1.8% increase in 2024. Idaho (1.4%) and North Carolina (1.3%) followed closely, with their growth also driven by domestic migration gains. Texas (1.2%) grew rapidly from a combination of natural change and net international migration, despite a sharp slowdown in gains from the latter. Utah (1.0%) grew mainly from natural change, as net international migration - the largest contributor to its growth last year-slowed.