Over 2 decades, the highest US population growth has been driven by immigration.
Nearly 1% growth in the US population occurred last year, in contrast to the 0.2% growth recorded in 2021.
In 2024, the U.S. experienced its highest rate of population growth in 23 years due to the influx of migrants, resulting in a population of over 340 million, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Since 2001, the U.S. population has grown by nearly 1% between 2023 and 2024, marking the highest increase since that time. However, in 2021, the population growth rate was only 0.2%, which was a record low due to pandemic restrictions on travel into the U.S.
Nearly 2.8 million more people immigrated this year due to a new counting method that includes those admitted for humanitarian reasons.
The change in the residential population was largely due to net international migration, as defined by the Census Bureau as any movement of residence across U.S. borders.
Last year, net international migration accounted for 84% of the 3.3 million person increase in the nation.
The net increase in international migration has continued to rise, with 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023.
"The integration of federal data sources on immigration has improved our estimates methodology, according to Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections. This update allows us to better comprehend the impact of the recent increase in international migration on the country's overall population growth."
In 2022, the U.S. experienced a birth excess of approximately 519,000, marking a significant increase from the historic low of 146,000 in 2021, but still falling short of the highs of past decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau declined to provide a comment to Planet Chronicle Digital regarding the report.
In 2024, the south was the fastest-growing region in the U.S., with an increase of 1.8 million people, which was more than all other regions combined.
Florida experienced the second-largest population growth in the US with 467,347 new residents, after Texas which had the highest increase of 562,941 new residents.
At a growth rate of 2.2%, Washington, D.C., experienced the fastest expansion in the country.
In 2024, some states, including Mississippi, Vermont, and West Virginia, experienced a slight population decline, with the number of people lost ranging from 127 to 516.
The Biden administration's humanitarian parole has been criticized by Republicans, and those included in the international migration estimates this year are a group of people who entered the U.S. through this program.
Last week, the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., reported that over 5.8 million individuals were admitted under various humanitarian policies from 2021 to 2024.
Estimating the population of the United States accurately is difficult due to the challenge of counting new immigrants.
The Census Bureau's estimate of 1.1 million immigrants entering the United States in 2023 is significantly lower than the 3.3 million people estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.
The Census Bureau has recalculated last year's immigration figures to approximately 2.3 million people, which is an increase of 1.1 million people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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