Texasโ€™ population grew more than any other state in the country in the last year, by nearly half a million people, according to the recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the 1.6 million people the nation gained between July 2022 and July 2023, nearly 30% are Texas residents.

The 473,453 people added to Texasโ€™ population during that period, contributed to the state’s high growth rate of 1.6%, which was the third highest in the county behind South Carolina and Florida.

Due to Texasโ€™ size โ€” the second most populous state in the country โ€” the high growth rate contributed to broader population increases in the South. Compared to other parts of the country, the South accounted for 87% of the U.S.โ€™s 2023 growth. The majority of the Southโ€™s growth is due to net domestic migration, according to census estimates. Net international migration to the region contributed nearly 500,000 people.

Kristie Wilder, a demographer with the Census Bureau, said in a Tuesday statement that the U.S. population growth stemmed from a decrease in deaths and migration returned to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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,โ€ Wilder said.

Compared to the 0.5% growth rate in 2023, the U.S. population increased by 0.4% and 0.2% in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The recently released estimates suggest the country returning to population trends observed before the COVID-19 pandemic, a release from the Census Bureau said.

The population growth is centered in Texas cities. Nearly 70% of Texas residents live in theย four largest metro areasย โ€” which include Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin โ€” according to estimates from the Texas Demographic Center.

This article was written by WILLIAM MELHADOย  ย 0f The Texas Tribune.

This article originally appeared at : https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/19/texas-2023-population-growth-census/

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