Record-Breaking Surge: Immigration Drives US Population Growth to Highest in 20 Years

The Census Bureau reports that immigration caused the biggest annual rise in the US population since 2001.

By Sheenu Gupta On Dec 20, 2024 Share with new partner:

According to new estimates released by the Census Bureau on Thursday, the US population experienced its largest annual growth since 2001, driven primarily by a surge in immigration. In 2024, the number of people living in the United States increased by nearly 1%, reaching a total of 341 million. Of the 3.3 million new residents, approximately 2.8 million were immigrants who arrived from outside the country.

Additionally, the number of births in the US exceeded the number of deaths by nearly 519,000, a significant rise compared to 2021, when the birth-death gap had dropped to just 146,000 due to the effects of the pandemic.

The South continued to be the largest and fastest-growing region in the United States, experiencing an increase of 1.8 million residents, which surpassed the population growth of all other regions combined. A significant portion of this growth was driven by Texas, which alone added nearly 563,000 people.

The state also saw the highest gains in both births and domestic migration, contributing more than any other state in the country to the overall population increase. This reflects the ongoing trend of people moving to Texas, drawn by its economic opportunities and expanding job market.

Among all the states, only Vermont, West Virginia, and Mississippi saw population declines. In particular, California experienced a significant loss of nearly 240,000 residents due to domestic migration, marking the largest drop in the country.

However, the state still saw a net population increase overall, as it gained 361,000 people through international migration alone. This highlights the contrasting trends within the state, where people are leaving for other parts of the country, but California remains a major destination for immigrants from abroad.

Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division, explained that the 1% annual growth rate seen in the US is higher than what has been observed in recent years but still falls within historical norms. However, she noted that what is particularly striking in the new data is the reduced contribution of natural population increase—such as births outnumbering deaths—over the past five years. Instead, net international migration has emerged as the primary factor driving the nation’s population growth.

These new population figures are being released amid President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to deport a significant portion of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. Although much of his early rhetoric has been focused on removing individuals involved in violent crimes, Trump has also expressed his intention to end birthright citizenship, which grants automatic citizenship to children born in the US to undocumented parents.