The US gained more than 1.6 million people over the past year, growing by 0.5% to 334,914,895, according to the Vintage 2023 population estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
More states experienced population growth in 2023 than in any year since the start of the pandemic – the nation recorded a 0.4% population increase in 2022 and a 0.2% uptick in 2021.
The South was the nation’s most populous region, accounting for 87% of the 2023 growth. The region added over 1.4 million residents for a total population of 130,125,290 – the South was also the only region to have maintained population growth throughout the pandemic. The region’s migration patterns were divided between 706,266 people added by net domestic migration and nearly 500,000 from net international migration.
Eight states saw their population fall in 2023: California (-75,423), Hawaii (-4,261), Illinois (-32,826), Louisiana (-14,274), New York (-101,984), Oregon (-6,021), Pennsylvania (-10,408), and West Virginia (-3,964). Puerto Rico recorded a population decline of 0.4%, or 14,422 people.
“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.”
