About 60% of the more than 3,100 counties in the U.S. grew in population from 2022 to 2023, according to new Census Bureau estimates – up from the 52% of counties that experienced an increase between 2021 and 2022.
“Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, said in a statement. “Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth.”
More counties in the Midwest saw population gains than losses for the first time since 2020, according to the bureau. And while more counties in the Northeast lost population than gained it, the number of counties that saw a population increase rose from 83 in 2022 to 105 in 2023.
Fewer counties had more deaths than births – known as natural decrease – in 2023 than the year prior. Still, more than 70% of counties in the Northeast, South and Midwest regions saw natural decreases in population in 2023. Counties in the West had the lowest share of natural decrease, with 53.7% of its 449 counties experiencing more deaths than births.
Every county in Maine experienced natural decrease from 2022 to 2023, as did a majority of counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. On the other hand, nearly 1,000 counties in the U.S. had more births than deaths in 2023, including 25 of the 30 counties in Alaska and 17 of the 21 counties in New Jersey.
In terms of numeric growth and decline, Harris County, Texas, led the nation in population growth in 2023, adding 53,788 residents from 2022. By contrast, Los Angeles County – the most populous county in the U.S. at nearly 10 million residents – experienced the largest decline in population of any county in the U.S., with a loss of 56,420 people in 2023.
Among counties with at least 20,000 residents in both 2022 and 2023, here are the 10 counties that saw the greatest percentage growth, according to Census Bureau estimates. All are located in the South, and more than half are in one state.
