The nation’s population grew by just 0.5% in 2025, reaching 342 million people, according to Census Bureau estimates released Tuesday, as immigration declined sharply from the previous year.

The slowdown is the sharpest decline since 2021, when pandemic travel restrictions reduced immigration. Immigration fell to 1.3 million people in 2025 from 2.8 million in 2024, a decline the Census Bureau attributed to enforcement actions by the Trump administration that took effect after the president returned to office in January.

The 0.5% growth rate contrasts sharply with 2024’s nearly 1% growth, which was the highest in two decades. If current trends continue, the Census Bureau projects that annual immigration gains will drop to just 321,000 by mid-2026.

Immigration as Engine of Growth

In 2024, net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s population increase, making immigration the primary driver of growth. The sharp decline in immigration means population growth increasingly depends on the difference between births and deaths—a gap that has narrowed considerably in recent decades.

Births exceeded deaths by 519,000 in 2025, higher than the pandemic-era low at the beginning of the decade but far below the 1.6 to 1.9 million annual natural increase recorded in the 2000s.

Uneven Impact Across States

The immigration decline hit established immigrant-destination states particularly hard.

California experienced a striking reversal. The state posted a net population loss of 9,500 people in 2025, a sharp change from a gain of 232,000 the previous year. While the number of Californians moving to other states remained roughly the same in both years, net immigration to the state plummeted from 361,000 in 2024 to 109,000 in 2025.

Florida also saw significant declines. Domestic migrants moving into the state dropped from 64,000 in 2024 to 22,000 in 2025. The state’s net immigration fell from more than 411,000 to 178,000 over the same period, a decline that comes as property values and home insurance costs have surged.

New York added only 1,008 people in 2025, primarily because net immigration to the state dropped from 207,000 in 2024 to 95,600 in 2025.

States in other regions fared better. South Carolina, Idaho, and North Carolina had the highest year-over-year growth rates, ranging from 1.3% to 1.5%. Texas, Florida, and North Carolina added the most people in absolute numbers. California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, and West Virginia recorded population declines.

Regional Slowdown

The South, which has been the powerhouse of population growth in the 2020s, continued to add more people than any other region but at a slower pace. The region added 1.1 million people in 2025, down from 1.7 million in 2024.

“Many of these states are going to show even smaller growth when we get to next year,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

Data Limitations and Bureau Concerns

The population estimates reflect change from July 2024 to July 2025, capturing the end of President Joe Biden’s administration and the first half of Trump’s time back in office. The figures do not yet include the impact of enforcement surges that began after Los Angeles and Portland, meaning the full effects of Trump administration crackdowns in Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, and Minneapolis are not reflected in these numbers.

The Census Bureau calculates population estimates from government records and internal data, rather than through direct enumeration as in the once-a-decade decennial census. Unlike the decennial count, these estimates determine the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual government funding and have significant implications for congressional representation.

The release comes as the Census Bureau faces operational challenges. The agency lost about 15% of its workforce in 2024 due to buyouts and layoffs as part of cost-cutting efforts. Recent actions by the Trump administration, including the firing of Erika McEntarfer as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, have raised concerns about potential political interference at U.S. statistical agencies.

Frey said the Census Bureau’s staff appear to be conducting their work without interference. “So I have no reason to doubt the numbers that come out,” he said.

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