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U.S. Population Growth Falls To Record Low 0.1% In 2021—Here Are The States With The Biggest Gains And Losses

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Updated Apr 21, 2022, 08:12am EDT

Topline

The population of the U.S. grew 0.1% this year, the lowest rate since the nation’s founding, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates, with the continuing trends of decreased fertility and decreasing net international migration compounded by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, —here are the states with the biggest population changes:

Key Facts

New York State’s population fell 319,020, the largest decline in the nation, which the bureau attributed to negative domestic migration.

California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio also lost over 10,000 people each—a historically large number of states, according to the bureau.

The population of Washington, D.C., declined 2.9% in the past year, the largest percentage decrease in the nation.

Texas and Florida had the largest annual increases in population, adding 310,288 and 211,196, respectively.

Idaho’s population grew 2.9%, the fastest rate of increase in the country.

Big Number

392,665. That’s how much the U.S. population grew in the past year, according to Census data. The increase was due to a natural increase (the number of excess births over deaths) of  148,043 and net international migration of 244,622—the first time international migration was higher than natural increase, the bureau said.

Crucial Quote

Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau, noted population growth has been slowing for years “because of lower birth rates and decreasing net international migration, all while mortality rates are rising due to the aging of the nation’s population.” “Now, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this combination has resulted in an historically slow pace of growth,” Wilder said.

Surprising Fact

There were increases in net international migration in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the largest gains in Florida, Texas and New York. 

Further Reading

Estimates Show Slowest Growth on Record for the Nation’s Population (Census Bureau)

The U.S. Is More Diverse And Multiracial Than Ever Before, Census Shows (Forbes)

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