Pennsylvania's population inches up amid national slowdown
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Pennsylvania grew slightly last year as the nation's population growth slowed, driven by an immigration slump.
Why it matters: The state is aging fast, so even small population gains are important — and losing population could carry long-term consequences.
State of play: From July 2024 to July 2025, the U.S. population grew just 0.5%, adding 1.8 million people, per new Census Bureau estimates.
- That's the slowest rate since the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the nation's population grew by an anemic 0.2%.
The big picture: Pennsylvania, the country's fifth-largest state with more than 13 million people, added more than 13,000 people last year — a 0.1% bump from July 2024 to 2025, per the Census.
- The slight increase is in line with an anticipated larger trend, as the state's population is expected to rise a mere 1.6% by 2050, according to a report from the bipartisan legislative state agency Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
- Most of that overall growth will be fueled by the state's urban areas, including Philadelphia, whose population is expected to rise 15% by 2050.
Flashback: Between 2010 and 2020, Pennsylvania's population grew by 2.4%.
Zoom out: The commonwealth has one of the country's oldest populations: 20% of our residents are 65 and up.
- Case in point: Pennsylvania had roughly 10,000 fewer births than deaths in 2025, per the Census.
Threat level: The Center for Rural Pennsylvania says the declining birth rate is problematic for Pennsylvania, where people over 65 could soon outnumber people under 20.
- Slow population growth can lead to a shrinking workforce, hurt economic development and strain public resources and programs.
The intrigue: International migration, though down compared with recent years, helped partially offset the nearly 3,000 people who left Pennsylvania for other states last year.
- The rate of people leaving Pennsylvania has steadily slowed since 2022, when the commonwealth lost more than 40,000 people.
What they're saying: The state and national population slowdown is "largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million," Census assistant division chief Christine Hartley said in a statement.
- Births and deaths, meanwhile, remained "relatively stable."
Between the lines: The numbers offer some insight into the effects of President Trump's immigration crackdown, though it's an incomplete view, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes.
- Because of the time period covered, they capture only the first few months of Trump's second term — reflecting his early immigration efforts, but not more recent surges, such as in Minnesota.
Reality check: The slowdown comes after a year of breakneck gains; the U.S. population grew by 1% (3.2 million people) from 2023 to 2024.
- That was the fastest growth rate since 2006, the Bureau notes.