HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The U.S. population is growing in many cities and counties at a slower rate than in previous years, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report illustrates that population growth slowed in the majority of the nation’s 3,143 counties and the District of Columbia between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025.
Among the 2,066 counties that grew between 2023 and 2024, nearly 80 percent of them saw their growth slow or reverse direction in 2025, according to Census data.
The Houston metro area gained more residents than any other U.S. metro area from July 2024 to July 2025.
The greater Houston area saw population growth of 126,720 people in the same period, according to census data.
Despite topping the list, Houston grew at a slower pace than in previous years.
“It’s the most rapid compared to other areas that are really struggling, but it’s much slower than what we’ve seen in the past,” Baker Institute Fellow in Public Finance Bill King said. “Houston, probably more than any other place in the country, is affected by federal immigration policy. For the past decade or so, our population growth has almost completely relied on international immigration, so when international immigration goes down, we are going to feel it here.”
King stated that multiple factors are at play, leading to slower population growth locally.
“On the domestic side of it, if we make this an unattractive place to live, then that’s going to discourage people from moving here. Things like higher taxes, floods, hurricanes, high crime rates, poor schools,” King said.
King also mentioned the factors at play at the federal level.
“This is a function of the birth rate that has been coming down for the past 20 or 30 years. The only thing that has sort of propped up the United States as far as our population continuing to grow is international immigration, and obviously, with this new administration, we have a very different policy, so we are effectively at zero new immigration,” King said.
Demographers and economists explain that there are economic impacts of slowed population growth.
“There’s no question that we don’t have enough people to fill the jobs in this country based on how many children we are having so we have got to bring in people for the labor force and if we don’t have that that’s going to constrain people in all kinds of work especially people in the construction industry will be dramatically affected by it and restaurant industry will be affected,” King said.
King said there needs to be a policy shift to spur more population growth.
“I don’t view this change in population as being particularly terrible or great, but it’s different than what we’ve had in the past and what we’ve got to do is start thinking about how we adjust the policy decisions that we are making,” King said.
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