The Census Bureau estimates, released Tuesday, show the U.S. population reached nearly 342 million people in 2025. The growth rate of 0.5% was the lowest since 1919, when the Spanish flu pandemic was winding down. The drop from nearly 1% in 2024 marked a sharp reversal, as 2024 had registered the highest growth rate in two decades, driven largely by increased immigration.
MSI previously reported that the 0.5% growth rate was the lowest level since 1919, and that immigration had accounted for 84% of U.S. population growth in 2024. In 2025, the Census Bureau data show net international migration added approximately 1.3 million people, compared with 2.8 million in the prior year. Immigration’s share of overall growth fell to roughly half the 2024 level.
The bureau’s estimates do not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. The data reflect a full year of population change through mid-2025, capturing the final months of the Biden administration and the first half of Trump’s first year back in office. The decline in immigration followed an acceleration of enforcement actions after Trump took office in January 2025.
Demographers said the slowdown carries implications for labor supply, economic growth, and the allocation of congressional seats and Electoral College votes after the next census. The South continued to add more residents than any other region, though at a slower pace than the year before, according to the Census Bureau.
The release of the 2025 population estimates was delayed by last fall’s federal government shutdown.