U.S. cities are growing again — thanks to immigration
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America's metros are growing faster than the country overall, driven largely by foreign immigration, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
Why it matters: An exodus of city-dwellers rocked many U.S. metros during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some are now clawing back residents (and their productivity, creativity, tax dollars, etc.)
Driving the news: The number of people living in U.S. metro areas rose by almost 3.2 million between 2023 and 2024, the Census Bureau said today — a gain of about 1.1%.
- By comparison, the total U.S. population rose by 1% during that time.
- Nearly 90% of U.S. metro areas grew from 2023 to 2024, the bureau says.
Zoom in: Some metros hit hardest by pandemic population loss — think New York; Washington, D.C. and San Francisco — grew between 2023 and 2024, though some are still down relative to 2020, as seen above.
Between the lines: Cities can thank international migration for this latest population spike.
- "All of the nation's 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas," the bureau said in a statement accompanying the new data.
How it works: The bureau bases these estimates on current data for births, deaths and migration, all of which affect overall population.
What's next: Demographers and other researchers will be keeping a close eye on how Trump administration policies might affect immigration levels.
