Jan. 27 (UPI) — The net growth of the U.S. population slowed to the lowest point since the pandemic due to a decrease in net migration in 2025, according to a census report released Tuesday.
The nation’s population grew by 1.8 million to 341.8 million from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, for a 0.5% gain, which is about half the growth of 3.2 million and 1% a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau said.
“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,” Hartley explained.
Net international migration peaked at 2.7 million in 2024, and if the current trend continues, it is projected to decline to 321,000 in 2026.
Net international migration is determined by subtracting the number of immigrants who are born outside of the United States and who leave the country from the number of those who arrive during a given time period.
With net immigration growth at 1.3 million, the growth of the native U.S. population was 519,000, which is about the same as the prior year. The Census Bureau defines native-born as anyone who was born inside the United States and its territories or who was born abroad to one or more parents who are U.S. citizens.
The growth of the native U.S. population is higher than that reported during the pandemic but is lower than 1.1 million in 2017 and yearly totals of between 1.6 million and 1.9 million from 2000 through 2010.
Despite the overall population increase, five states reported declining populations in 2025. Those five states were California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia.
Among states experiencing population growth, South Carolina posted the largest percentage gain with 66,622 more residents in 2025 for a 1.5% gain, followed by Idaho at 1.4%, North Carolina at 1.3% and Texas at 1.2%.
Population growth slowed in all four of the nation’s census regions, which are the West, Midwest, South and Northeast.
The South’s population growth dropped to below 1% for the first time since 2021 at 0.9%. That is down from 1.4% a year earlier.
The Northeast reported the steepest decline in population growth at 0.2%, down from 0.8%.
The Midwest posted population gains in all of its states for a second straight year with a net increase of 244,385, which is down from 386,231 in 2024.
The Census Bureau did not provide information on the population change in the West.