U.S. population growth slows after Trump border policies enacted

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

The growth in U.S. population slowed significantly from July 2024 to July 2025 as President Donald Trump’s border enforcement policies slowed international migration, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday.

The population grew by 1.8 million, or 0.5%, the slowest growth in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic. The significant slowdown follows 2024’s high of 3.2 million people added to the country.

Officials at the U.S. Census Bureau attributed the slowdown in growth to a loss of net international migration.

“With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration” led to the change, said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau.

South Carolina claimed the spot as the fastest-growing state in the nation. The Palmetto State saw an increase of 79,958, according to the Census Bureau. Most of the state’s growth was attributed to domestic migration gains.

The growth in South Carolina accounted for an increase of 1.5% in its population, compared to Texas with 1.2%.

Five states experienced year-over-year population declines in the country: California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia.

International migration accounted for 1.3 million people added between July 2024 and July 2025, a notable decline from 2.7 million added the year prior.

The Midwest region saw positive net migration for the first time in a decade, the census bureau found.

“While the net domestic migration was a relatively modest 16,000, this is still a notable turnaround from the substantial domestic migration losses in 2021 and 2022 of -175,000 or greater,” said Marc Perry, senior demographer at the Census Bureau.