Midsize U.S. cities held steady in population over the past year, even as the national population grew at one of the slowest rates in history, according to new numbers released on Thursday by the Census Bureau.
Across the country, the growth of large cities was outpaced by that of surrounding midsize cities, defined as municipalities with populations ranging from about 25,000 to 70,000. Fort Mill, S.C., was the fastest-growing city in the Charlotte, N.C., metro area, increasing its population by 6.8 percent, to 38,673. Its growth outpaced that of Charlotte, the nation’s 14th-largest city.
The new census estimates capture changes in the population from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, a period when immigration declined under the tighter border policies imposed toward the end of the Biden administration and the aggressive enforcement under the Trump administration. The figures also reflected the continuing effects of declining birthrates, as the country’s fertility rate fell to a record low.
The nation’s population increased by about 1.8 million over the past year, hitting almost 342 million on July 1. That represents a roughly 0.5 percent growth rate, the lowest since 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused an increase in deaths and a slowdown in migration.
According to the new census estimates, drop-offs in average growth were steepest in the largest cities, especially those in the Northeast. Among the largest cities, average growth rates fell by at least half compared with a year earlier.
“The growth slowdown in bigger cities has a lot to do with the recent downturn in immigration, as immigrants tend to land in these cities,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. He added that further declines could occur as immigration is curtailed.
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