Immigration, dip in deaths spur uptick in U.S. population growth

ORLANDO, Fla. — Immigration powered population gains in the United States for a second year in a row and — coupled with a drop in the number of deaths from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic — caused an uptick in the U.S. growth rate in 2023, 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 people. Population gains or losses come from births outpacing deaths, or vice versa, along with migration.

After immigration declined in the latter half of last decade and dropped even lower amid pandemic restrictions at the start of this decade, the number of immigrants last year bounced back to almost 1 million people. The trend continued this year, growing to 1.1 million people, the highest number of immigrants in more than two decades, according to Census Bureau figures compiled by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

It is a sign of things to come in this century, as the U.S. population is projected to decline without immigration since deaths will be outpacing births by the late 2030s.

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

South Carolina’s 1.7% growth rate topped all other states, and its population rose by more than 90,000 residents. More than 90% of the growth came from domestic migration.

Florida had the nexthighest growth rate at 1.6%, adding more than 365,000 residents. That was also the second-highest growth in terms of raw numbers. Only Texas surpassed it, gaining more than 473,000 people.

California was still the nation’s most populous state, with 38.9 million residents. Texas was the second most populous state with 30.5 million residents.