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New Vintage 2023 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week show the nation gained more than 1.6 million people last year, growing by 0.5% to 334,914,895. While the growth rate was still historically low, said the Bureau, it still beat the 0.4% rate in 2022 and the 0.2% rate in 2021 thanks to migration and a drop in deaths. Where are we growing in numbers the most?
“The expansion of the South — the nation’s most populous region — accounted for 87% of the nation’s growth in 2023, as the region added over 1.4 million residents for a total population of 130,125,290,” says the Bureau. “The South is the only region to have maintained population growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in 2023 can largely be attributed to the region’s migration patterns as 706,266 people were added via net domestic migration, while net international migration contributed almost 500,000 to the total.”
Paralleling the business growth documented by Site Selection in the state over the past few years, Texas experienced the largest numeric population change in the nation, adding 473,453 people, followed by Florida, which added 365,205 residents. “South Carolina and Florida were the two fastest-growing states in the nation, growing by 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively, in 2023,” said the Bureau, which last week also released insightful new data sets on five-year state-to-county migration flows (documenting where people moved) and its Business Trends and Outlook Survey, which now includes data for multiunit/multilocation businesses.
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