Census Bureau: Yearly Population Growth Slowest In US History

The U.S. population grew by 0.1% over the year that ended July 1, the slowest rate in American history, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The bureau estimated that the population grew by 392,665 in the 12 months before July 1. It attributed the record low to “decreased net international migration, decreased fertility, and increased mortality due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Of the 392,665 people, just 148,043 came from natural increase (based on net number of births and deaths over a year), while 244,622 came from international migration. The bureau said that this was first time migration outpaced natural increase.