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 trend matters because it signals a shift in demographic patterns across the country, with many large urban areas experiencing reduced international migration and changing domestic migration flows.
Among the counties that grew from 2023 to 2024, nearly eight out of ten saw their growth slow or reverse direction in the following year. In addition, many counties already facing decline saw losses accelerate. The slowdown was also observed in metropolitan statistical areas: out of the nation’s metro areas, over three-quarters experienced slower growth compared to previous years. Notably steep declines occurred along the U.S.-Mexico border; for example, Laredo, Texas’s growth rate dropped from 3.2% to just 0.2%, while Yuma, Arizona fell from 3.3% to 1.4%, and El Centro, California shifted from modest growth into a slight decline.
The Census Bureau attributes these changes largely to lower levels of net international migration (NIM), which declined nationwide during this period—nine out of ten counties reported lower NIM compared to the previous year.
Some of America’s largest counties were among those hardest hit by reduced international migration rates. These typically populous regions had more births than deaths but continued to lose residents through domestic migration as people moved elsewhere within the country; when combined with fewer new arrivals from abroad, this led either to much slower overall population increases or outright declines.
“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,” explained George M. Hayward, a Census Bureau demographer. “With fewer gains from international migration, these types of counties saw their population growth diminish or even turn into loss.”
Geographically speaking, many fast-growing counties were found along states on the southeastern coast such as Florida and Georgia; however, among larger metro areas it was often outer-edge suburban locations—especially around Texas—that posted faster rates than central cities themselves.
Looking ahead, methodological improvements have been made for estimating net international migration at local levels according to recent Census Bureau updates available online; further detailed demographic data by age group and ethnicity is scheduled for release later this year.
