Is the US population growing or shrinking?
Updated annually
It grew by 3.3 million people between 2023 and 2024, a 0.98% increase. That’s more than the population of Chicago. Between 2014 and 2024, it grew by 6.5%. Changes in population reflect things like shifting birth and death rates, immigration patterns, and even the overall health of the economy. The recent 0.98% increase was primarily driven by immigration to the US.
+3.3M
population change (2023 to 2024)
+0.98%
percent change in population (2023 to 2024)
The US population has grown every year since 1900 except one. Between 1917 and 1918, a spate of Spanish flu deaths led to a 60,000-person drop.
The recent 3.3 million-person increase has been the largest population increase of the 21st century and was 6.3 times larger than the population change during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the population grew by 522,000 between 2020 and 2021.
The US population gained 3.3 million people between 2023 and 2024, the largest population increase in the 21st century.
Annual population change
Since 2000, the US population has grown 20.5%, an average increase of 0.86% per year. The 2000-2001 change was the highest annual increase during those years.
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The US population grew by 0.98% between 2023 and 2024.
Annual percent population change
The US population is influenced by two factors:
- Natural population change: If births outnumber deaths in a given year, natural population growth is positive. If deaths exceed births, it’s negative. Between 2023 and 2024, births exceeded deaths in the US by 518,600.
- Immigration: If more people move to the US than move out, population change from immigration is positive. If more people move out than in, it’s negative. Between 2023 and 2024, 2.79 million more people moved into the US than out.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural population change drove most of the nation’s growth. Since 2020, immigration has been the primary driver of population growth.
Between 2023 and 2024 the US gained 2.79 million residents via immigration.
Components of population change from previous year
State-level population change varies. Unlike the nation as a whole, state populations can change three ways: natural population change, immigration is influenced by births and deaths, international immigration, and domestic state-to-state migration.
From 2023 to 2024, Florida had the largest percent gain at 2.0%. Vermont ranked last, with a 0.3% decline.
In terms of overall numbers, Texas gained the most residents with 562,900, followed by Florida with 467,300 and California with 232,600. Three states — West Virginia, Vermont, and Mississippi — lost population. West Virginia’s loss of 516 residents was the most of any state.
Among states, Florida had the largest percent gain in population between 2023 and 2024.
Annual population change
Between 2014 and 2024, the US population has increased by 6.5%. According to the US Census Bureau’s International Database, the world’s global population grew by 10.5% over that same period.
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
