US Population rises to 331 million

U.S. Census Bureau data released on Tuesday reveals that the population has slowed to the lowest rate in American history, increasing 0.1 percent from July 2020 to July 2021, but still increased to the highest total in history — hitting 331,893,745 residents. Immigration to the U.S., legal and illegal, contributed to about 62 percent of the population growth seen in the last year, the first time that immigration has exceeded natural increase for any given year.

For comparison, the U.S. population in 1970 stood at 203 million residents.

Natural increase in the population, determined by the number of excess births over deaths from July 2020 to July 2021, contributed to about 38 percent of the 0.1 percent growth.

Meanwhile, net immigration to the U.S. contributed to about 62 percent of the population growth seen in the last year, the first time that immigration has exceeded natural increase for any given year.

Predictions are that the increase will translate to denser communities, an increase in vehicle traffic, strained public infrastructure, and more development across once rural areas.

The totals come as newly released Census Bureau data showed that the nation’s foreign-born population has hit a record 46.2 million with much of the increases occurring in California, Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Virginia.