- Despite ongoing domestic outmigration, the U.S.’s largest metropolitan areas—with populations over 5 million—experienced overall growth between 2023 and 2024. International immigration and natural population changes drove those numbers.
- International migration accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas, offsetting domestic population losses; New York City saw the largest growth from immigration, gaining 315,764 residents.
- The Census Bureau’s annual population estimates integrate survey and administrative data, providing updated insights different from the decennial census, which relies on detailed individual counts.
Full Story
America’s largest cities lost thousands of people in the years during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, as mayors and governors shut down much of daily life. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows residents are still leaving many of the areas, but international immigration is more than making up for the losses.
On Thursday, March 13, the Census Bureau released its annual city and county population estimates for the 12 months ending July 1, 2024. The estimates show that every metropolitan area with a population of more than 5 million grew during that time.
More to the data
A closer look at the sources of population growth for those 13 metropolitan areas shows only the Dallas, Houston and Phoenix areas grew in domestic migration, or people moving there from other parts of the country, and international migration.
The New York City metropolitan area, which includes Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, had the largest total population growth of any other metropolitan area. It increased by an estimated 213,403 new residents over the 12 months in the Census Bureau’s report. In that time, the area lost 92,121 more people to domestic outmigration than it saw Americans moving there. Likewise, it gained 315,764 residents from international immigration, more than canceling out the loss of residents.
Positive natural change, the number of residents born subtracted by deaths in that time, also contributed to population growth in the country’s major metropolitan areas.
Immigration boom
“All of the nation’s 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas — up from 2.2 million between 2022 and 2023,” a release from the bureau said.
The nation saw record immigration, legal and illegal, in recent years. Census data shows the total number of foreign-born people living in the U.S. reached 47.8 million in 2023, 1.6 million more than the previous year.
How we’re counted
The Census Bureau’s annual population estimates use an improved method that combines survey data and administrative data from other federal agencies. This is the first measurement of city and county data that uses the new method.
Annual population estimates differ from the decennial census in that the bureau uses various data sources to aggregate a figure. The official census count involves checking each resident and their associated demographic data. The Census Bureau began using online information gathering in 2020, compared to relying solely on in-person counts.
