The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Mar. 26 that population growth slowed in most of the nation’s 3,143 counties and the District of Columbia between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to its Vintage 2025 population estimates.
This slowdown affects how communities plan for resources and services as shifting migration patterns impact local populations. Many large counties experienced reduced growth or even decline due to lower levels of net international migration.
Among the counties that grew from 2023 to 2024, nearly eight out of ten saw their growth slow or reverse in the following year. Metro areas also saw a decrease in their growth rates; for example, Laredo, Texas dropped from a growth rate of 3.2% to just 0.2%, while Yuma, Arizona fell from 3.3% to 1.4%, and El Centro, California went from a slight increase to a decline.
George M. Hayward, a Census Bureau demographer said: “The nation’s largest counties like those in the New York metro area are often international migration hubs, gaining large numbers of international migrants and losing people that move to other parts of the country via domestic migration.” He added: “With fewer gains from international migration, these types of counties saw their population growth diminish or even turn into loss.”
The report notes that nine out of ten U.S. counties experienced lower net international migration compared with the previous year; those not experiencing declines did not see increases either. The data show that while natural increase (more births than deaths) remained steady for many populous areas, reduced gains from abroad combined with ongoing losses through domestic moves resulted in slower overall growth.
Growth was strongest along the Southeast coast—especially Florida and neighboring states—and among outer-edge suburban counties near major cities like those in Texas. Of larger metro areas’ fastest-growing counties (population over twenty thousand), nine out of ten were located in southern states.
Metro areas as a whole grew by just six-tenths percent during this period—a drop compared with prior years—while micro areas and rural regions posted even smaller gains or stagnation due mainly to aging populations causing more deaths than births.
Future releases will provide additional demographic breakdowns by age group and ethnicity for further analysis.
