- The Census Bureau released new 2023 estimates that indicate just how much state populations have expanded or shrunk.
- South Carolina was the fastest-growing state from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023.
- New York saw its population decline from where it stood in July 2022.
While Texas had the biggest overall population increase between 2022 and 2023, South Carolina took the top spot by percent increase during this time.
That's based on new population estimates from the Census Bureau showing how the population has changed in each state and Washington, DC, between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023.
"Eleven states that lost population in 2022 are now seeing gains," a new Census Bureau press release about the data said. Maryland, Kansas, and Ohio were three of these states.
South Carolina saw its population increase by 1.7%, from around 5.3 million to about 5.4 million.
You can hover over the map below to see just how much the population changed for every state and Washington, DC.
"As more states experience population growth, that growth is no longer concentrated in only a few states," the Census Bureau press release said. "For example, four southern states — Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia — accounted for 93% of the nation's population growth in 2022, but only 67% in 2023."
California, which had the biggest population as of July 2023, saw its population decrease 0.2% from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023. That's not as large as New York's 0.5% decline during this time. New York's drop translates to the largest percent decline among the states.
Looking beyond individual states, some clear long-running regional trends continued.
"The expansion of the South — the nation's most populous region — accounted for 87% of the nation's growth in 2023, as the region added over 1.4 million residents for a total population of 130,125,290," the press release said.
The Northeast, however, saw the population fall by 43,330 to 56,983,517. The press release noted that this decrease for the region "was considerably smaller" than the population drops it experienced in 2021 and 2022.
Much of the increase in the fastest-growing states came from immigration and people moving across the US. Looking at net migration figures by state, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina saw high net migration figures relative to other states.
Adjusting by the population as of July 1, 2022, South Carolina and Florida had the highest net migration rates per capita. South Carolina and Delaware had the highest rates when looking specifically at net domestic migration, or people moving into those states from elsewhere in the US.
"U.S. migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and a drop in deaths are driving the nation's growth," Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau, said via the press release. "Although births declined, this was tempered by the near 9% decrease in deaths. Ultimately, fewer deaths paired with rebounding immigration resulted in the nation experiencing its largest population gain since 2018."
Did you move to a different state in 2023? Reach out to this reporter to share your story at [email protected].