Immigration fuels uptick in US population growth
Immigration powered population gains in the United States for a second year in a row
ORLANDO, Fla. — The number of immigrants to the U.S. jumped to the highest level in two decades this year, driving the nation’s overall population growth, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The United States added 1.6 million people, more than two-thirds of which came from international migration, bringing the nation’s population total to 334.9 million. It marks the second year in a row that immigration powered population gains.
A decline in the number of deaths since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the U.S. growth rate.
Population gains stem from immigration and births outpacing deaths.
After immigration declined in the latter half of last decade and dropped even lower amid pandemic-era restrictions, the number of immigrants last year bounced back to almost 1 million people. The trend continued this year as the nation added 1.1 million people.
The last time immigration surpassed 1.1 million people was in 2001, according to Census Bureau figures compiled by William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution.
It is a sign of things to come. Without immigration, the U.S. population is projected to decline as deaths are forecast to outpace births by the late 2030s.
“The immigration piece is going to be the main source of growth in the future,” Frey said.
The census determines how many U.S. congressional seats each state gets. If trends continue through the 2030 count, California could lose four U.S. House seats and New York three. Texas could gain four seats and Florida could add three, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice.
While low by historical
Read more on abcnews.go.com
