More Counties Saw Population Gains in 2023
MARCH 14, 2024 ? More U.S. counties experienced population gains than losses in 2023, as counties in the South saw faster growth and more Northeast and Midwest counties had population losses turn to gains, according to the U.S. Census Bureau?s Vintage 2023 estimates of population and components of change released today.
Approximately 60% (1,876) of U.S. counties gained population from 2022 to 2023, an increase from the 52% of counties (1,649) that experienced population growth between 2021 and 2022. Among the nation's 3,144 counties, the average change from 2022 to 2023 was 0.29%, up from 0.17% the previous year.
?Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,? said Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau?s Population Estimates Branch. ?Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth. Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out west, such as in Arizona and Idaho.?
Continue reading for more data highlights on counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, domestic and international migration, natural change, and more.?
 New on America Counts
Florida was home to four of the nation?s top five fastest-growing metropolitan statistical areas and three of the top 10 that gained the largest number of people from 2022 to 2023, reflecting continued population growth across the South.
The increases in Florida ? the nation?s third most populous state ? were fueled by rapid growth in select metro areas in the state during that period.
The population growth in Florida?s metro areas underscores a larger trend of widespread population growth across the South, the nation?s fastest-growing region and site of all of the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. metro areas from 2022 to 2023.
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