The latest population numbers are in and they could have big implications for housing demand.

I'm Kathy Fedke and this is real estate news for investors.

This is Real Estate News with Kathy Fedke.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2025 population estimates.

The data tracks births, deaths, and migration.

It also shows where people are moving.

And the numbers reveal a big shift.

Between 2024 and 2025, the U.S. population grew by 1.8 million people.

That's a growth rate of about half a percent. It's the slowest population growth

since 2021, when the pandemic pushed growth down to record lows. One of the main reasons for the

slowdown is international migration. In 2024, the U.S. saw strong population growth. Part of that was due to updated census methods

that better counted international migration. But in 2025, those migration numbers dropped sharply.

International migration fell from 2.7 million people in 2024 to about 1.3 million in 2025. That decline slowed overall population growth.

Even so, many states are still growing. The fastest growing states last year were South Carolina,

Idaho, and North Carolina. Meanwhile, the largest states remain the same, California, Texas, and Florida.

Another interesting trend showed up in the Midwest. Every state in the Midwest recorded population

growth in 2025. That growth mostly came from natural increase, meaning more birth than deaths.

Meanwhile, migration patterns are still reshaping the country.

The South remains the top destination for Americans moving to new states. North Carolina saw

the most domestic movers. It was followed by Texas, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

International movers still favor Florida, followed by Texas, California, and New York.

And when you combine both domestic and international migration, the biggest population gains were in the South.

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