How Many People Are In The US?
The United States population reached 341.8 million as of July 1, 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates released in January 2026. The country is the third most populous in the world after India and China. Population growth between July 2024 and July 2025 was 1.8 million people, or 0.5 percent: the slowest annual rate since the early COVID-19 period in 2021. Two shifts drove the slowdown. Net international migration dropped from 2.7 million the prior year to 1.3 million. The U.S. total fertility rate reached a record low of about 1.6 births per woman in 2024 (and dropped again in provisional 2025 data), well below the 2.1 replacement level. The country is still growing. The rate, the sources, and the demographic profile of that growth have all changed.
A Historical Overview of the US Population
On July 4, 1776, when the United States declared independence, the resident population sat at roughly 2.5 million people, concentrated in the original thirteen Atlantic-seaboard colonies. The first federal census in 1790 counted 3.9 million. By 1880, the population had grown to about 50 million, driven by the Industrial Revolution, the post-Civil War westward expansion under the Homestead Act of 1862, and the first major wave of European immigration. By 1980 the population reached about 226 million. The post-WWII baby boom (1946-1964), increased life expectancy, and continued immigration carried the growth through the second half of the 20th century. The 2020 Census counted 331.4 million. The 2025 estimate of 341.8 million is about 10.4 million higher than 2020, growth of about 3.1 percent over five years.
The Geographic Distribution of the US Population
The Census Bureau divides the country into four standard regions. The South holds about 39 percent of the US population (133 million people), making it both the most populous and the fastest-growing region. The West holds about 24 percent (82 million). The Midwest holds about 21 percent (72 million). The Northeast holds about 17 percent (57 million). The South-and-West share has risen consistently since 2000, while the Northeast and Midwest shares have declined.
Within those regions, the population concentrates heavily in metropolitan areas. About 86 percent of US residents live in metro areas, with the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston metros each holding over 7 million people. Among the major regional shifts: between July 2024 and July 2025, the fastest-growing states by percentage were South Carolina (1.5 percent), Idaho (1.4 percent), North Carolina (1.3 percent), Texas (1.2 percent), and Utah (1.0 percent). Five states lost population over the same period: California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, and West Virginia.
Where the Majority Lives
California remains the most populous state at roughly 39.4 million, though it has lost net population for several consecutive years due to domestic out-migration. Texas sits second at about 31.3 million and continues to add residents at the fastest absolute pace in the country (the gap between California and Texas has narrowed from 14 million in 2010 to under 9 million in 2025). Florida sits third at roughly 23.4 million. New York fourth at about 20 million. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan round out the ten states with populations above 10 million.
The District of Columbia, while not a state, holds the highest population density in the country at about 11,300 people per square mile across its 68 square miles. New Jersey is the most densely populated state at about 1,260 people per square mile. Rhode Island follows at about 1,065 per square mile. At the other end, Alaska holds about 1.3 people per square mile across its 663,000 square miles of land area: less than 1 percent of New Jersey's density.
Population by Age and Origin
The median age of the US population is 39.0 years as of 2024, up from 37.2 in 2010 and 35.3 in 2000. The aging trend reflects both declining fertility and increasing life expectancy. Females make up about 50.5 percent of the population, males 49.5 percent. About 21.7 percent of residents are under 18, and about 18.0 percent are 65 or older. The 65-plus share has risen from 13.0 percent in 2010 and is projected to reach about 23 percent by 2060 as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age out of the workforce.
Foreign-born residents (immigrants) numbered about 53 million in 2024, or roughly 15.6 percent of the total population: the highest share since the 1890 census peak of 14.8 percent. Of those, about 24 million are naturalized U.S. citizens. The remaining 29 million are non-citizens, split between lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), temporary visa holders, and unauthorized residents. Recent estimates of unauthorized residents range from about 11 million to 14 million depending on the source and methodology. The unauthorized population has been a major focus of policy enforcement under the current administration, which has driven much of the 2025 drop in net international migration.
Populations Beyond the Continental US
Alaska is the largest state by land area (663,000 square miles, more than the next three states combined) and one of the least populous at about 740,000 residents in 2025. The combination of size and sparse settlement gives Alaska the lowest population density of any state. Hawaii holds about 1.43 million residents across the eight main islands of the archipelago and a chain of much smaller uninhabited northwestern islands. Honolulu metro on the island of Oahu holds about 1 million of those residents.
The five permanently inhabited US territories add another 3.4 million residents to the total US population (though territory residents are not counted in the 50-state figures). Puerto Rico is by far the largest at about 3.2 million in 2025, though the island has lost population almost every year since 2005 due to negative natural change (deaths exceed births) and out-migration to the mainland. Guam holds about 170,000 residents, the US Virgin Islands about 85,000, the Northern Mariana Islands about 47,000, and American Samoa about 44,000.
The History of Immigration to the US
Immigration has driven a substantial portion of US population growth since the founding. The first major wave (roughly 1820-1860) brought about 5 million immigrants, primarily from Ireland and Germany. The second wave (roughly 1880-1924) brought about 25 million, primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italians, Poles, Russians, Greeks, and large numbers of Eastern European Jews), and shaped the demographic profile of the Northeast and Midwest industrial cities. The Immigration Act of 1924 sharply restricted entry, particularly from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia, and immigration ran low for the next four decades.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 replaced the national-origin quotas with a family-based and skills-based system, opening immigration from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Source countries for the foreign-born population today are predominantly Mexico (about 10.6 million residents), India (about 2.9 million), China (about 2.4 million), the Philippines (about 2.0 million), and El Salvador (about 1.5 million). The foreign-born share of the population has risen from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 15.6 percent in 2024.
The Future of the US Population
The Census Bureau's 2023 National Population Projections marked a substantial revision from prior projections. Under the medium-immigration scenario, the US population is now projected to peak at about 369 million people around 2080 and then decline gradually thereafter. The older 2017 projections had the population reaching 404 million by 2060 and still growing; the new projections have the 2060 figure closer to 363 million and growth essentially stalled. The revision reflects faster fertility decline than expected, an aging population profile that drives more deaths, and uncertainty about future immigration levels.
The aging trend continues regardless of the immigration scenario. By 2060, the Census Bureau projects about 95 million Americans aged 65 or older, up from about 62 million in 2024. Workers per retiree drop from about 3.6 today to about 2.5 by 2060, with implications for Social Security and Medicare financing. On racial and ethnic composition, the Census Bureau projects that no single group will hold a majority of the population by some point in the 2040s, with the non-Hispanic white share dropping below 50 percent. The Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial shares are projected to continue growing.
How the US Population Compares
India surpassed China as the world's most populous country in April 2023, ending China's long-held top position. India's population reached approximately 1.45 billion in 2025 and continues to grow. China's population peaked at 1.426 billion in 2022 and has been declining since, falling to about 1.408 billion by 2025; UN projections show China potentially below 1 billion by the end of the century. The United States is third at 341.8 million, well behind both but substantially ahead of the next-ranked countries (Indonesia at about 285 million, Pakistan at about 254 million, and Nigeria at about 237 million).
European population sizes run dramatically smaller. Germany (84 million), France (68 million), the United Kingdom (69 million), and Italy (59 million) are the four most populous EU member states. The US holds 3.5 million square miles of land area, compared to Germany's 135,000 square miles, which explains most of the density differential: Germany averages about 620 people per square mile, the US about 93. The US density is much closer to those of Norway, Australia, and Canada than to Western European countries.
Where the US Population Is Headed
Three demographic trends dominate the medium-term outlook: the fertility rate continuing below replacement, the over-65 population growing as the Baby Boomer cohort moves through it, and immigration levels driving most of the year-to-year variation in growth rates. The 2025 slowdown to 0.5 percent annual growth, after 2024's 1.0 percent, illustrates how sensitive the overall rate is to immigration policy. Whether the US population reaches the projected ~369 million peak in the 2080s depends substantially on what happens to immigration over the next several decades. The composition of the country will continue diversifying regardless: Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial Americans are projected to account for an increasing share of population growth, while the non-Hispanic white share continues to decline. Whatever the trajectory, the country will be older, more diverse, and growing more slowly than at any point in its post-WWII history.
