The report states that the population grew by 1.6 million, and that this trend could be greater when the 2023 figures are published.
This means a growth of 0.5%, some 334,914,895 inhabitants in the United States of America, which consolidates the country as the third most populated nation in the World, only surpassed by China and India.
However, population growth remains low, but represents a slight rebound compared to the increase of 0.4% in 2022 and 0.2% in 2021.
“Migration returns to pre-pandemic levels, as well as the decrease in deaths, are driving the country’s population growth,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division of the Census Bureau.
“Although births decreased, this was tempered by the almost 9% decrease in deaths. Ultimately, fewer deaths coupled with a rebound in immigration resulted in the nation experiencing its largest population increase since 2018,” she maintained.
The South
Population growth in the country’s southern states accounted for 87% of the country’s growth in 2023, as the region added more than 1.4 million for a total population of 130,125,290.
The southern states, Florida among them, make up the only region that maintained population growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The growth in 2023 can be largely attributed to the region’s migration patterns, as 706,266 people flowed through net internal migration, while net international migration contributed almost 500,000 to the total,” he summarized.
Population change
After two consecutive years of decline, the Midwest’s population saw a modest increase of 0.2%, to just over 126,000 residents. “This region recovered due to a lower rate of emigration to other regions, increased international immigration, a slowdown in population loss in Illinois, and growth in Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio,” the report said.
Western states also report growth, with 137,299 people added to the region, slightly less than the 157,480 that were reported in 2022.
Fewer Western states report population loss in 2023. Of those, Alaska and New Mexico regained population after losing it the previous year. California, Oregon and Hawaii continued to lose population, but at a more modest rate than the previous year.
The population of the Northeast of the country decreased in 2023, with 43,330 fewer, but the loss was considerably smaller than the decrease of 216,576 in 2022 or the decrease of 187,054 in 2021, reflecting substantially less emigration to other regions.
New York and Pennsylvania were the only Northeastern states to lose population in 2023, but the declines slowed considerably from the previous year.
Gaining population
In 2023, more states gained population than had been seen since the start of the pandemic. At the state level, 42 states and the District of Columbia had population increases, up from 31 states and the District of Columbia in 2022 and 34 states in 2021.
The growing number of states with population growth reflects both broad national trends of deaths and net international migration returning to pre-COVID levels, as well as a reduction in net domestic emigration in some of the states.
Percentage change
Eleven states that lost population in 2022 are now seeing gains: New Jersey (30,024), Ohio (26,238), Minnesota (23,615), Massachusetts (18,659), Maryland (16,272), Michigan (3,980), Kansas (3,830), Rhode Island (2,120), New Mexico (895), Mississippi (762), and Alaska (130).
Eight states saw their population drop in 2023: California (-75,423), Hawaii (-4,261), Illinois (-32,826), Louisiana (-14,274), New York (-101,984), Oregon (-6,021), Pennsylvania (-10,408 ) and West Virginia (-3,964).
Collectively, these states had a population loss of 249,161 in 2023, compared to a loss of 509,789 in 2022. While many of these states have lost population annually since 2020, their population decline has slowed.
As more states experience population growth, that growth is no longer concentrated in just a few states. For example, four southern states (Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia) accounted for 93% of the country’s population growth in 2022, but drop to 67% in 2023.
Texas experienced the largest numerical change in the country, adding 473,453 people, followed by Florida, which added 365,205 residents. South Carolina and Florida were the two fastest-growing states in the country, growing 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively, in 2023.
Georgia also reached a new population threshold, as the state’s population surpassed 11 million people in 2023, increasing by 116,077 to a total population of 11,029,227.
Puerto Rico
The population of Puerto Rico was 3,205,691 in 2023, continuing the trend of population decline in the United States territory. However, the rate of population decline has slowed, with a loss of 0.4%, or 14,422 people, in 2023, compared to a loss of 1.3%, or 42,580 people in 2022.
Puerto Rico had its first year of positive net migration since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding 1,872 people via migration in 2023.
Meanwhile, births decreased by 4.5% and deaths increased by 2.8% on the Caribbean island, resulting in a loss of 16,294 residents due to natural decline.
Other countries
The rest of the so-called developed world, made up mainly of the European Union, Canada and Japan, shows a disturbing decrease that worries the governments of those nations.
In the case of the European Union, made up of 27 member countries, the figures vary between decrease and increase from one territory to another.
For example, Italy reports a decrease of nearly 200,000 inhabitants, while Germany adds more than a million.
On the other hand, Spain reports that its population grew again for the tenth consecutive quarter and is close to 48.5 million residents.
However, Japan reports a decrease of 0.53%, to place the country with about 123 million inhabitants.
