"If trends continue, the gain from immigrants in mid-2026 will drop to only 321,000 people, according to the Census Bureau, whose estimates do not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. In the past 125 years, the lowest growth rate was in 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when the U.S. population grew by just 0.16%, or 522,000 people and immigration increased by just 376,000 people because of travel restrictions into the U.S."
"Births outnumbered deaths last year by 519,000 people. While higher than the pandemic-era low at the beginning of the decade, the natural increase was dramatically smaller than in the 2000s, when it ranged between 1.6 million and 1.9 million people. Lower immigration stunts growth in many states The immigration drop dented growth in several states that traditionally have been immigrant magnets. California had a net population loss of 9,500 people in 2025,"
The U.S. population reached nearly 342 million in 2025 with a 0.5% growth rate, down sharply from almost 1% in 2024. Immigration gains fell to about 1.3 million in 2025 from 2.8 million in 2024 and are projected to drop to 321,000 by mid-2026; Census estimates do not distinguish legal status. Births exceeded deaths by 519,000, a natural increase far below the 2000s levels of 1.6–1.9 million. The pandemic year 2021 recorded the lowest growth in 125 years at 0.16%. Lower immigration reduced growth in several states, contributing to California’s 2025 net population loss.
Read at Fast Company
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