According to fresh estimates that were issued on Thursday by the United States Census Bureau, while the rate of population growth in the United States has increased up this year, driven mostly by immigration, it is still around historically low levels.
The population was estimated to have stood at 333.3 million as of the first of July, an increase of around 0.4 percent when compared with 12 months previously. This was the largest rise in a single year since 2019 but was still one of the slowest growth rates in the history of the country.
The GDP of the country increased by less than 0.2 percent in 2021, making it the year with the lowest annual growth rate ever recorded.
The entire population increased by 1.26 million, with immigration accounting for one million of the total increase. Since Donald J. Trump was elected president, we have not seen immigration levels anything near that high.
The remainder of the gain was ascribed to “natural” change, which may be defined as an increase in the number of births relative to the number of deaths. The number of births increased by 106,000, which is the first increase in that category since 2015 and the largest since 2007. This is despite the fact that the death rate continued to be pushed above normal levels by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, the total number of deaths increased by only a slight amount when compared with 2021.
According to William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, “I wouldn’t call it a true return to normal” when it comes to the increase of the overall population. “I wouldn’t call it a real return to normal.” “Immigration is going to be a major feature for our future development,” he observed, noting that the population of the country is becoming older and that the birthrate is not very strong.
Work-from-home arrangements have made it easier for some Americans, particularly highly educated women, to balance career and family responsibilities. However, it is not yet clear whether or not this will lead to a long-term increase in birthrates, according to Caitlin Knowles Myers, an economist at Middlebury College and an expert on fertility.
The new statistics, which included estimates for each state, demonstrated that people in the United States had kept up an age-old migration trend in which they move from the South and West to the South and West.
In terms of population growth, Texas led the country with 471,000 new citizens, followed by Florida (417,000), North Carolina (133,000), and Georgia. Georgia added the most people, with 133,000. (125,000). Even though Florida had the most percentage change, an increase of 1.9 percent, smaller states like Idaho (1.8 percent) and South Carolina (1.7 percent) rated among the leaders in growth. Florida had the biggest percentage change.
The states that had the greatest loss in population were New York (180,000 persons), California (114,000), and Illinois (104,000), in that order. In general, these states have relied on immigration for development; nevertheless, the rise in the number of new residents who were born outside of the country this year was not sufficient to make up for the number of inhabitants who moved to other parts of the country.
The expansion of the country was centred in large amounts. Texas and Florida, which together account for 16 percent of the total population of the United States, were responsible for 71 percent of the increase in population over the course of the last year. These two states lead the nation in luring immigrants as well as people moving in from other states.
The largest number of individuals moved to California from other states, yet the state also had the greatest increase in population due to immigration.
In many respects, the regional patterns that are playing out in 2022 are a continuation of the long-term national tendencies. The population of the American South and West has increased by about 50 percent since 1990, whereas the population of the American Northeast and Midwest has increased by just 12 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
The pandemic has contributed to hastening a change in the pattern of how demographic shifts take place.
In the past, the major factor that contributed to population expansion in the United States was natural change, which is defined as the number of births minus the number of deaths. But even before the epidemic struck, the ageing country was already suffering a decrease in fertility and an increase in fatalities. This trend continued long after the outbreak ended.
Even if immigration itself was on the decline in the latter part of the previous decade and at the beginning of the pandemic, the epidemic caused it to become an increasingly important component in population growth. More than one million Americans lost their lives as a result of the pandemic. The importance that immigration plays in population growth is notable now that the Census Bureau has estimated a significant increase in the number of inhabitants who were born in other countries.
According to Kenneth Johnson, a sociologist at the University of New Hampshire, the number of deaths topped the number of births in twenty-four states, a statistic that he described as “staggeringly high.” He went on to say, “This is quite rare historically,” adding that before the pandemic, it was customary for just one or two states to display such a tendency each year. “This is highly unique historically,” he said. “This is highly unusual historically.”