The U.S. Census Bureau recently released the 2024 population estimates, which offer a detailed look at the nation's demographic trends. These estimates highlight key metrics such as population growth, natural change (births minus deaths), domestic migration, international migration, and net migration.

Last year, the U.S. population grew at its highest rate since 2001, largely driven by a surge in international migration, which accounted for 84% of the nation’s total population growth. These trends reveal fascinating shifts across states, with some states outperforming others in attracting residents.

We analyzed the data at NAR to identify the top 15 states leading in these metrics. The interactive visualization below showcases the top-performing states in each category.

Take a look and find out—did your state make the list? See here where your state stands!

 

Population Growth: Steady Leaders, New Contenders

The list of states with the largest populations remains consistent: California (39.4M), Texas (31.3M), and Florida (23.4M) maintain their top spots.

However, some states experienced faster population growth rates in 2024, outpacing previous years: New Jersey (1.3%), Washington (1.3%), and Massachusetts (1.0%) joined the list of the top 15 states with the fastest population growth in 2024.

Births: Where Growth Begins

While birth rates continue to decline nationwide, some states managed to increase their number of births in 2024. Idaho led with a 2.2% growth rate in births (496 more births in 2024 compared to 2023). Montana (2.2%), South Dakota (1.3%), Utah (0.5%), Colorado (0.3%), Tennessee (0.1%), and North Carolina (0.05%) were the other states that experienced an increase in births in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Natural Change: A Crucial Metric for Long-Term Stability

Natural population change is a foundational metric that influences economic stability for an area. A positive natural change ensures that an area’s population grows organically without relying on migration. Areas with high natural change often have younger populations, which leads to a more balanced age distribution.

On top of the list, Missouri saw the most significant improvement, reversing its 2023 negative change of 90 more deaths than births to a natural increase of 1,521 births in 2024. Other states like Montana (103%), Tennessee (74%), and Wisconsin (50%) experienced remarkable growth in natural change. Unsurprisingly, larger states such as Texas (158,753) and California (110,466) led in absolute numbers, each surpassing 100,000 more births than deaths in 2024.

Domestic Migration: Economic and Demographic Drivers

Domestic migration is the movement of people between areas within the country. This is a powerful driver of economic and demographic change, providing areas with the people, skills, and resources needed to outperform. It also reflects the attractiveness of an area and plays a pivotal role in shaping long-term local development.

Texas led with 85,267 net domestic movers, followed by North Carolina (82,288) and South Carolina (68,043). However, it’s worth noting that Virginia and Washington reversed their negative migration trends from 2023, with Virginia seeing a 155% increase in net domestic migration. Utah had the largest growth in domestic migration, gaining nearly seven times more movers in 2024 than in the previous year.

International Migration: Driving Population Growth

The U.S. Census Bureau updated its methodology for estimating international migration, resulting in higher estimates for nearly all areas. In the United States, international migration added a net increase of 2.8 million people, accounting for an impressive 84% of the nation’s total population growth of 3.3 million in 2024. This is a significant increase in international migration from recent years, with net increases of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023.

As expected, Florida and California led the nation in net international migration gains. While the top 15 states with the largest gains remained consistent with 2023, California’s gains surged by 23%.

Net Migration: The Big Picture

Net migration provides a holistic view of population shifts across states when combining domestic and international migration. Higher international migration resulted in higher net migration gains as well, with all states across the country experiencing positive net migration. For example, both New York and California were able to reverse their net migration losses of the previous years to gains in 2024. Specifically, New York recorded 86,244 net migration gains, reversing its downward trend. California achieved over 120,000 net migration gains, making it the 4th state with the largest net migration gains, behind Florida, Texas, and North Carolina. Illinois also demonstrated significant improvement, increasing its net migration gains by over five times compared to 2023.

At the top of the list, Florida maintained its position as the leader in net migration gains with 475,339, followed closely by Texas at 404,836.

See here the estimates for all states: