Immigrants fuel U.S. population jump of 1.6 million in 2023

The U.S. population grew by 1.6 million residents in 2023 as immigration surged back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Census Bureau.

The federal agency estimated that the national headcount grew by 0.5% to 334,914,895 people, with more states experiencing population growth than any time since COVID-19 restrictions shut down international travel in 2020.

While this year’s population growth remains “historically low,” the bureau noted that it is up slightly from a 0.4% annual increase in 2022 and a 0.2% increase in 2021.

“U.S. migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and a drop in deaths are driving the nation’s growth,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau. “Although births declined, this was tempered by the near 9% decrease in deaths.

Ultimately, fewer deaths paired with rebounding immigration resulted in the nation experiencing its largest population gain since 2018.”

A surge in people moving to the South accounted for 87% of the nation’s population growth or roughly 1.4 million people. The Census Bureau estimated that 130,125,290 people lived in the nation’s most populous region this year.

The agency noted that the South grew steadily throughout the pandemic as people migrated domestically. This year, a rebound in international migration patterns added further to the total.

In 2023, the Census Bureau estimates that 706,266 people moved to the South from other states and nearly 500,000 immigrants arrived from other countries.

“The South is the only region to have maintained population growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the bureau said.
In other parts of the country, the Midwest grew by 0.2% — adding slightly over 126,000 residents — after two years of decline.

“The Midwest’s population rebounded due to a lower rate of outmigration to other regions, increased international migration, a slowdown in population loss in Illinois, and growth in Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio,” the bureau noted.

The West added 137,299 people this year, compared to a gain of 157,480 residents in 2022.

The Census Bureau noted a modest increase in international migration, “slightly fewer deaths” and more people leaving the region this year.

Alaska and New Mexico gained residents after decreasing last year. The bureau noted that California, Oregon and Hawaii lost residents at “a more modest pace” than last year.

The only region that decreased in size was the Northeast, which had 43,330 fewer people this year. Nevertheless, the bureau noted that “the loss was considerably smaller than the 216,576 decline in 2022 or the 187,054 decline in 2021,” as fewer people left the region this year.

“New York and Pennsylvania were the only Northeastern states to lose population in 2023 but the declines were considerably reduced from the prior year,” the Census Bureau reported.