Population articles
Immigration is down and so are births: Why population growth slowed down
The population of the United States grew by 1.5 million between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 — the smallest annual growth since the 1940s.There are a few methods for measuring these population changes. First, there’s natural population change, which is the number of deaths in a given year subtracted from births. There’s also change from migration, which counts the number of immigrants arriving in a given year. Plus, migration between states needs to be counted for state populations.A drop in every facet of population change has led to slowing population growth. The graphic below breaks down population changes by state and region.
Is the US population growing or shrinking?
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.
Where are authorized immigrants to the US coming from?
In 2022, the largest number of immigrants came from Mexico. Immigrants from Mexico made up 20.8% of all people who immigrated to the US in 2022. Authorized immigrants are those who came to the US through channels such as a visa, green card, or as a refugee or asylee.
How many asylum applications does the US receive?
Around 945K applications in 2023. The US asylum system helps resettle people who fear persecution if they return to their home country. Unlike refugees who apply for protection before arriving in the US or at its borders, asylum seekers apply after they are already in the US.
What is the main reason people immigrate to the US via authorized channels?
45.3% immigrated for work in 2022. That’s around 1.7 times higher than the number that came for education, the next most common reason. Other reasons for immigration included family, safety, and various other factors.
How many immigrants get green cards every year?
About 1.17 million during fiscal year (FY) 2023, 15.2% more than the previous year. That’s the number of people who became lawful permanent residents (LPR) of the U.S., commonly known as green card holders. Green cards grant immigrants the right to live and work permanently in the US with a path toward citizenship. The total includes individuals who obtained green cards through family sponsorship, employment, refugee or asylum status, and other avenues.
How many immigrants come to the US each year?
The US is home to almost 335 million people, some 46.2 million of whom (13.8%) were born outside of the country.In each year from 2021 to 2023, immigration has driven the nation’s population growth, with net migration outnumbering natural population growth that comes from having more births than deaths. Of the 1.6 million-person increase in the population from 2022 to 2023, 1.1 million (68%) came from immigration, while 504,000 (32%) came from natural growth.What types of immigration are there?Immigration can be thought of as having three different types:temporary authorized immigration with visas that offer no path to citizenshippermanent authorized immigration with a path to citizenshipunauthorized immigrationHow many temporary authorized immigrants are in the US?The first type includes foreign-born people living in the US with temporary visas including work visas, school visas, and visas to be with family. In 2022, the federal government awarded over 2 million such visas, including:1 million for work700,000 for school330,000 to people coming to the US to be with family members
How many DACA recipients are there?
About 515,600 people at the end of June 2025 — about the same as the population of Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program created in 2012 for people who came to the US as children and who do not have legal immigration status. People accepted into DACA and who maintain active status with the program are protected from deportation and are allowed to apply for work authorization, but do not receive legal immigration status or have a path to citizenship.
USAFacts’ top 10 articles of 2025
In 2025, Americans turned to USAFacts seeking information about the 2024 election, federal government employment and aid, immigration data, US debt ownership, government shutdowns, and crime statistics.Here are the 10 most-read articles of the year:10. How many voters have a party affiliation?Americans remained interested in the number of voters with a declared political affiliation long after the presidential election. Records from the 32 states and Washington, DC, that require party affiliation when registering to vote offer insight into voter alignment.As of August 2025, 45% of all registered voters had declared a party affiliation — 37.4 million registered as Republicans and 44.1 million as Democrats. Wyoming had the highest percentage of registered Republicans at 77%, while Washington, DC, had the highest percent of registered Democrats at 76%. Among all states, Maryland had the highest percentage of registered Democrats at 52%.
Where do US immigrants come from?
More than 2.6 million authorized immigrants came to the US in fiscal year 2022. About 41% of them, or 1.06 million people, came for work.What is the total number of immigrants in the US?There were 2.6 million new authorized immigrant arrivals in fiscal year 2022, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security and State Department. That’s an increase from 2020 and 2021, and similar to the 2017 level.
Just the Facts about the US population, demographics, and geography
Household size, racial demographics, the average age of an American: these stats are always changing. And who has a college degree? How many people are registered to vote? Here’s America by the numbers.
How many people have received a US green card?
Green cards, officially known as Permanent Resident Cards, indicate a foreign-born person’s lawful permanent residency status in the US.In 2022, the US accepted 1.02 million green card applications, a 37.6% increase from 2021. As of January 2023, there were 12.7 million lawful permanent residents living in the US.
Why do immigrants come to the US?
People immigrate to the US to work, reunite with family, study, or seek personal safety. In 2021, 42% of the 1.5 million people who immigrated to the US came for work.What reasons for immigration does the government track?The US government generally allows legal immigration for five broad reasons: work, school, family, safety, and encouraging diversity.People immigrating for work or school are often granted temporary entry rather than permanent residency. Immigration for family generally means the immigrant has a relative who is already in the US as a citizen, green card holder, or temporary visa holder with whom they want to be reunited with. Those who immigrate for safety are refugees or asylum-seekers. And finally, up to 50,000 immigrants obtain green cards annually through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program lottery that grants entry to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.
What will America’s population look like by 2100?
By 2100, the United States will be home to 366 million people, according to Census Bureau projections. That’s 32 million more people than in 2022, but it also indicates a slight decline from a projected peak down the road.The Census Bureau projects America’s population to grow older and more diverse by the end of the 21st century, with immigration and fertility rates driving most changes through 2100.The Census also projects immigration will be the largest driver of population growth through the rest of the century. Without any new immigration, the Bureau estimates the nation’s population would begin declining in 2024, resulting in approximately 107 million fewer people in 2100 than in 2022. Conversely, it also projects a high-immigration scenario in which the US could have an estimated 102 million additional people by then.How much is the US population predicted to grow by 2100?The Census projects the population will grow by 9.7%, or 33 million people, between 2022 and 2100. That’s roughly equivalent to the current population of Texas. According to these projections, the US population will peak at 369 million people in 2080 before declining through the rest of the century.What are the predicted birth and death rates for the US?US birth rates are predicted to decline throughout the remainder of the 21st century, from 10.8 births per 1,000 people in 2023 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 2100. Meanwhile, the death rate will increase from 8.5 per 1,000 people in 2023 to 11.9 per 1,000 in 2100.Fertility rates have generally declined in the US since the late 1950s, and the share of the population over 65 has increased. The Census expects these trends to continue, resulting in a death rate that exceeds the birth rate by 2038. By 2100, the Census Bureau estimates there will be 1.2 million more deaths in the US than births.
How many people seek asylum in the US?
Asylum seekers play a key role in the US immigration system, as they seek refuge from persecution in their home countries. The US provides a platform for individuals who fear persecution or harm based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.Exploring the processes, statistics, and trends surrounding asylum seekers can clarify the challenges these migrants encounter when seeking safety in the US, and can focus immigration reform for those most vulnerable populations.What is asylum?Under current laws, migrants who arrive in the US may apply for asylum status if they have suffered persecution or fear they will suffer persecution if they return to their home country. These individuals fall under the category of asylum seekers.When someone seeks asylum in the US, they can follow one of two processes: affirmative or defensive asylum.What is affirmative asylum?An affirmative asylum seeker submits an asylum application to the Department of Homeland Security after entering the country. In this case, they proactively seek asylum status.What is defensive asylum?A defensive asylum seeker requests asylum as a defense against deportation during a standard removal proceeding. This means they are already being deported when they claim asylum to stay in the US.The processing of asylum claims falls under the jurisdiction of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security.
How many refugees are entering the US?
There are 2.4 million refugees worldwide in need of resettlement, according to the United Nations.The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a foreign policy tool to offer hope to persecuted individuals worldwide.What is the definition of a refugee?Refugees and asylum seekers both leave their home countries due to fears of persecution. However, the process for seeking protection and the requirements within the US immigration system necessitates designating these people into two categories.Refugees apply for refugee status before coming to the US, while asylees apply for asylum status while already in the US or at a port of entry.According to the USRAP, refugees are people who have experienced past persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.How many refugees enter the US annually?Over 3.6 million refugees have entered the US since 1975 — more than the population of Utah.After hitting a 40-year annual low of 11,411 during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, over 60,000 refugees entered the country in 2023, the most since 2016. By June 30, 2024, the annual total had already eclipsed that at 68,000.
State of the Union: The words, the facts, the data
Here’s the data behind President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address.We analyzed the words in his latest address to Congress, alongside every such speech since 1980. From immigration to war, here’s an analysis of each president’s words.
How common are multigenerational households?
In 2022, there were an estimated 4.8 million multigenerational households in the US — homes with three or more generations living under one roof — equal to 3.7% of all households in the country. Those households contain 26 million people, or 8.1% of the US population.Are multigenerational households becoming more common?Multigenerational households have consistently hovered at around 3.8% of all households in the US. 2022’s rate of 3.7% was the lowest since 2010.
What are the most common civil rights violations in education?
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a branch of the Department of Education charged with investigating claims of discrimination in schools and other programs the department funds, received a record-high 19,201 complaints in 2023. This was up 2% from 2022. The OCR enforces a range of civil rights laws, including Titles II, VI, and IX. Anyone can file a discrimination complaint, whether they were the victim themselves or are filing on behalf of someone else. What is a civil rights violation? A variety of civil rights laws, and in some cases, the US Constitution, protect Americans against discrimination based on protected categories: race, disability, religion, immigration or citizenship status, language and national origin, age, genetic identification, servicemember status, and familial status (which includes marital, parental, and pregnancy status). They protect people in settings including housing, healthcare, the workplace, public spaces, businesses, polling places — and education. Which civil rights laws does the Department of Education’s OCR enforce?The OCR responds to alleged violations of: Title VI, barring discrimination based on race, color, or national origin Title IX, barring discrimination based on sex Section 504 and Title II, barring discrimination based on disability Age Discrimination Act of 1975, barring discrimination based on age (does not include employment) Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act prohibiting access discrimination by school facilities In fiscal year 2023, 96% of complaints fell under three of these: Sex-based discrimination under Title IX (42.5%), disability-based discrimination under Section 504 and Title II (35.1%), and race, color, and national origin-based discrimination under Title VI (18.4%). The remaining four percent of complaints were related to age or equal access discrimination.
What is the H-1B visa?
The H-1B visa is one of several temporary visas that allow people from other countries to live and work in the US, with 389,354 people who received or renewed an H-1B visa in 2019. Here is an explanation of the program, the lottery selection process, and the people who hold H-1B visas.