Demographics of the United States

Proportion of Americans under the age of 18 in each county of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census

Age distribution by selected age groups.[13]

• 0 - 14 years: 18.2%
• 15 - 24 years: 13.0%
• 25 - 54 years: 39.0%
• 55 - 64 years: 12.9%
• 65 years and over: 16.8%

The median age of the total population as of 2021 is 38.8 years; the male median age is 37.7 years; the female median age is 39.8 years. [13]

• 11.0 births/1,000 population (2021)[15] Country comparison to the world: 151th[31]

• 10.45 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)[32] Country comparison to the world: 78th[31]
• 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est)*[33] *age-adjusted death rate

TFR of the United States overtime from 1820 to 2016

In 1800 the average U.S. woman had 7.04 children;[34] by the first decade of the 1900s, this number had already decreased to 3.56.[35] Since the early 1970s the birth rate has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 with 1.72 children per woman in 2018.[36]

The drop in the U.S. fertility rate from 2.08 per woman in 2007 to 1.76 in 2017 was mostly due to the declining birth rate of Hispanics, teenagers, and young women, although the birth rate for older women rose.[37]

• 1.664 children born/woman (2021).[38]

• 27.1 years (2020 est.)[38]

The dependency ratio is the age-population ratio of people who are normally not in the labor force (the dependent population, which includes those aged 0 to 14 and 65 and older) to those who are (the productive part ages 15 to 64). It is used to gauge the strain on the populace that is productive.

• Total dependency ratio: 54.03 (2021) [13] Country comparison to the world*: 110th [39]
• Child dependency ratio: 28.11 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 138th
• Aged dependency ratio: 25.92 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 42nd
• Potential support ratio: 3.86 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 160th

*Ratios are ranked from highest to lowest by country

Historical development of life expectancy

• Total population: 76.1 years for a child born in 2021, decreasing from 77.0 years in 2020.[40]
• Male: 73.2 years (2021), 74.2 years (2020)
• Female: 79.9 years (2021), 79.9 years (2020)

The average life expectancy in the United States has been on a decline since 2014. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites three main reasons: a 72% increase in overdoses in the last decade (including a 30% increase in opioid overdoses from July 2016 to September 2017, but did not differentiate between accidental overdose with a legal prescription and overdose with opioids obtained illegally and/or combined with illegal drugs i.e., heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.), a ten-year increase in liver disease (the rate for men age 25 to 34 increased by 8% per year; for women, by 11% per year), and a 33% increase in suicide rates since 1999.[41]

From 2019 to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to approximately 61% of the decrease in life expectancy in the United States.[42] While increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, heart disease, homicide, and diabetes contributed to 11.7%, 5.8%, 2.9%, and 2.8% of the decrease in life expectancy from 2019 to 2020, respectively.[42] Life expectancy has also varied by racial and ethnic group, with Non-Hispanic Asians having the highest life expectancy and Non-Hispanic American Indians having the lowest.[42] In 2021, life expectancy at birth in the United States fell for the second year in a row, the first two-year drop since 1961-1963.[43]

Life expectancy by Hispanic origin and race, and sex: United States, 2019, 2020 & 2021 [40]

Race	Male LEB in 2021	Female LEB in 2021	Total LEB in 2021*	Total LEB in 2020	Total LEB in 2019	2019 - 2021
NH White	73.7	79.2	76.4	77.4	78.8	2.4
NH Black	66.7	74.8	70.8	71.5	74.8	4.0
NH Asian	81.2	85.6	83.5	83.6	85.6	2.1
NH American Indian or Alaska Native	61.5	69.2	65.2	67.1	71.8	6.6
Hispanic	74.4	81.0	77.7	77.9	81.9	4.2
All origins and races	73.2	79.1	76.1	77.0	78.8	2.7

NOTE: Life expectancy at birth data for 2021 are provisional.*

• NH = Non-hispanic.
• LEB = Life expectancy at birth
• Growth arrows (/) indicate an increase or decrease in total life expectancy compared to years before.

Counties in the United States by population per square mile of land area according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates and 2010 United States Census.[44][45] Counties more densely populated than the United States as a whole are in full blue.

States and territories in the United States by population per square mile, according to the 2020 United States census.

Counties in the United States by population growth since 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Annual Estimate of the Resident Population.[46] Counties with population growth greater than the United States as a whole are in dark green, counties with population growth slower than the United States in light green, and counties with declining populations in light red.

States in the United States by population growth since 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Annual Estimate of the Resident Population.[46] States with population growth greater than the United States as a whole are in dark green, states with population growth slower than the United States in light green, and states with declining populations in light red.

The most densely populated state is New Jersey (1,263/mi² or 488/km²).

The population is highly urbanized, with 82.3% of the population residing in cities and suburbs.[2] Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the United States (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast – with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage – and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu.[2] California and Texas are the most populous states, as the mean center of U.S. population has consistently shifted westward and southward.[47][48] New York City is the most populous city in the United States[49] and has been since at least 1790.

In the U.S. territories, population centers include the San Juan metro area in Puerto Rico,[50] Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands,[51] and the island of Tutuila in American Samoa.[52]

• Population growth rate: 0.12%. [13] Country comparison to the world: 130th

Note: Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number. Also note that growth arrows indicate an increase or decrease in the number of births, not in the fertility rate.[53][54][55][56]

Race of mother	Number of births in 2016	% of all born	TFR (2016)	Number of births in 2017	% of all born	TFR (2017)	Number of births in 2018	% of all born	TFR (2018)	Number of births in 2019	% of all born	TFR (2019)	Number of births in 2020	% of all born	TFR (2020)	2020-2016
White	2,900,933	73.5%	1.77	2,812,267	72.9%	1.76	2,788,439	73.5%	1.75
> NH White	2,056,332	52.1%	1.719	1,992,461	51.7%	1.666	1,956,413	51.6%	1.640	1,915,912	51.1%	1.611	1,843,432	51.0%	1.552	10.35%
Black	623,886	15.8%	1.90	626,027	16.2%	1.92	600,933	15.8%	1.87
> NH Black	558,622	14.2%	1.832	560,715	14.5%	1.824	552,029	14.6%	1.792	548,075	14.6%	1.776	529,811	14.7%	1.714	5.16%
NH Asian	254,471	6.5%	1.690	249,250	6.5%	1.597	240,798	6.4%	1.525	238,769	6.4%	1.511	219,068	6.1%	1.385	13.9%
NH American Indian or Alaska native	31,452	0.8%	1.794	29,957	0.8%	1.702	29,092	0.8%	1.651	28,450	0.76%	1.612	26,813	0.74%	1.517	14.75%
NH Hawaiian (incl. other Pacific Islander)	9,342	0.2%	2.076	9,426	0.2%	2.085	9,476	0.3%	2.106	9,770	0.26%	2.178	9,626	0.26%	2.142	3.04%
Total	3,945,875	100%	1.820	3,855,500	100%	1.765	3,791,712	100%	1.729	3,747,540	100%	1.706	3,613,647	100%	1.641	9.84%

NOTE:

• NH = Non-hispanic.
• TFR = Total fertility rate (number of children born per woman).
• Growth arrows (/) indicate an increase or decrease in the number of births, not in the fertility rate, comparing to the previous year.

Ethnicity of mother	Number of births in 2016	TFR (2016)	Number of births in 2017	TFR (2017)	Number of births in 2018	TFR (2018)	Number of births in 2019	TFR (2019)	Number of births in 2020	TFR (2020)	2020-2016
Non-Hispanic (of any race)	3,027,428		2,956,736		2,905,502		2,861,073		2,746,933
Hispanic (of any race)	918,447	2.093	898,764	2.007	886,210	1.959	886,467	1.940	866,714	1.876	5.63%

In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents (including many eligible to become citizens), 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants.[58] Among current living immigrants to the U.S., the top five countries of birth are Mexico (25% of immigrants), China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (5%) and El Salvador (3%). Some 13% of current living immigrants come from Europe and Canada, and 10% from the Caribbean.[58] Among new arrivals, Asian immigrants have been more numerous than Hispanic immigrants since 2010; in 2017, 37.4% of immigrant arrivals were Asian, and 26.6% were Hispanic.[58] Until 2017 and 2018, the United States led the world in refugee resettlement for decades, admitting more refugees than the rest of the world combined.[59] From fiscal year 1980 until 2017, 55% of refugees came from Asia, 27% from Europe, 13% from Africa, and 4% from Latin America, fleeing war and persecution.[59]

• Net migration rate (2022): 3.02 migrants/1,000 population.[31] Country comparison to the world: 35th[31]
• Net migration rate* (2020-2021): 0.73 migrants/1,000 population. [60]

*(mid-year estimates)

As of 2017, 13.6% (44.4 million) of the population was foreign born – an increase from 4.7% in 1970 but less than the 1890 record of 14.8%. 45% of the foreign born population were naturalized US citizens. 23% (10.3 million) of the foreign born community is undocumented, accounting for 3.2% of the total population.[58] According to the 2010 census, Latin America and the Caribbean is the largest region-of-birth group, accounting for 53% of the foreign born population. As of 2018 this region is still the largest source of immigrants to the United States[61][62][63] In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and U.S. born children of immigrants (second-generation Americans) in the United States, accounting for 28% of the overall U.S. population.[64] In 2018, 1,096,611 immigrants were granted either permanent or temporary legal residence in the United States[65]

[81]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January - March 2021	845 000	925 000	-80 000
January - March 2022	875 000	922 000	-47 000
Difference	+30 000 (+3.55%)	-3 000 (-0.32%)	+33 000

Median age of the U.S. population through history. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Census, United States Census Bureau and The World Factbook.[70][102]

States in the US shown with population change 2010 to 2020 census[103]

  -2.00% or less

  -0.01% to -1.99%

  0% to 0.99%

  1% to 2.49%

  2.5% to 4.99%

  5% to 8.99%

  9% to 11.99%

  12% or more

The U.S. total fertility rate as of 2020 is 1.641[38]

• 1.86 for white Americans (including White Hispanics)
  • 1.55 for non-Hispanic whites[38]
• 1.71 for non-Hispanic Blacks[38]
• 1.65 for Native Americans (including Hispanics)
• 1.53 for Asian Americans (including Hispanics)

Other:[53]

• 1.88 for Hispanics (of all racial groups)[38]

(Note that ≈95% of Hispanics are included as "white Hispanics" by CDC, which does not recognize the Census's "Some other race" category and counts people in that category as white.)

Source: National Vital statistics report based on 2010 US Census data[25]

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. Sources: Ansley J. Coale, Zelnik and National Center for Health Statistics.[104]

Life expectancy in the United States from 1901 to 2015. Source: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1901–1950

1901–2015

Source: UN World Population Prospects[107]

Population pyramid of United States in 1950

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, United Nations medium variant projections.[108][109]

Population pyramid by race

The United States Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification. Many other countries count multiple races based on origin while America compiles multiple dozens of ethnicity groups into skin color grouping them together. The racial classifications and definitions used by the U.S. Census Bureau are:[116]

• White: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.[117] It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Afghan, Iranian, Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
• Black or African American: a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.[117] It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am." or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
• American Indian or Alaska Native: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.[117] This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, Central American Indian groups, or South American Indian groups.
• Asian: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.[117]
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.[117]
• Some other race: includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" racial categories described above includes Asians from Western Asia or Russia (non European Russia) and White Africans
• Two or more races: people may choose to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, providing multiple responses, or some combination of check boxes and other responses.

Data about race and ethnicity are self-reported to the Census Bureau. Since the 2000 census, Congress has authorized people to identify themselves according to more than one racial classification by selecting more than one category. Only one ethnicity may be selected, however, because the U.S. Census recognizes only two ethnicities – Hispanic and Non-Hispanic – which are mutually exclusive since you can be one or the other, but not both. The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic" as any person who has an ancestral connection to Latin America.

According to the 2013–2017 American Community Survey, the racial composition of the United States in 2017 was:[118]

• United States in racial and ethnic groups
• 
  White Americans (of one race)
• 
  Non-Hispanic White Americans
• 
  Hispanic and Latino Americans
• 
  Black Americans
• 
  Asian Americans

Distribution of Total Population by Race, 1900 to 2020 (in %)

Hispanic are shown like part of the races. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.[108][102]

^*Data are shown for the White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race alone populations.

Median age by each race alone & ethnicity, 2021

Source: United States Census Bureau.[119]

Median age by race alone or in combination & ethnicity, 2021

Source: United States Census Bureau.[119]

CensusViewer US 2010 Census Latino Population as a heatmap by census tract.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the decennial census questionnaire and various Census Bureau survey questionnaires – "Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano" or "Puerto Rican" or "Cuban" – as well as those who indicate that they are "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin."[127] People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.[116]

Population distribution by Hispanic origin 1970–2020 (in %)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, decennial census of population, 1970 (5-percent sample), 1980 to 2020.[102]

Median age of each race alone, 2021 (Hispanic)

Source: United States Census Bureau.[119]

Median age of each race alone or in combination, 2021 (Hispanic)

Source: United States Census Bureau.[119]

Note: Hispanic origin is considered an ethnicity, not a race. Hispanics may be of any race.

As of 2017, there are 2,098,763 American Indian and Alaska Native people in the United States,[118] representing 0.7% of the U.S. population. There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments[128] in the United States. As of 2000, the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo.

There were 22.1 million veterans in 2009,[129] meaning that less than 10% of Americans served in the Armed Forces.[130]

In 2010, The Washington Post estimated that there were 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.[131] As of 2017, Pew Research reported that there an estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.[132]

There were about 2 million people in prison in 2010.[133]

A report by the U.S. Census Bureau projects a decrease in the ratio of Whites between 2010 and 2050, from 79.5% to 74.0%.[135] At the same time, Non-Hispanic Whites are projected to no longer make up a majority of the population by 2045, but will remain the largest single ethnic group. In 2050 they will compose 46.3% of the population. Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960.[136] However, White Americans overall are still projected to make up over 70% of the population in 2050.

The report foresees the Hispanic or Latino population rising from 16% today to 30% by 2050, the Black percentage barely rising from 13.2% to 14.4%, and Asian Americans upping their 4.6% share to 7.8%. The United States had a population of 310 million people in October 2010, and is projected to reach 400 million by 2039 and 439 million in 2050.[137][138][139][140] It is further projected that 82% of the increase in population from 2005 to 2050 will be due to immigrants and their children.[141]

Of the nation's children in 2050, 62% are expected to be of a minority ethnicity, up from 44% today. Approximately 39% are projected to be Hispanic or Latino (up from 22% in 2008), and 38% are projected to be single-race, non-Hispanic Whites (down from 56% in 2008).[142] Racial and ethnic minorities surpassed non-Hispanic whites as the largest group of U.S. children under 5 years old in 2015.[143]

Pew Research Center projections

The United Nations projects a population of just over 400 million in 2060.[144]

The country's racial profile will be vastly different, and although whites will remain the single largest ethnic group in the U.S., they will no longer be a majority excluding White Hispanics by 2055 according to Pew Research Center. Growth in the Hispanic and Asian populations is predicted to almost triple over the next 40 years. By 2055, the breakdown is estimated to be 48% non-Hispanic white, 24% Hispanic, 16% Black, and 14% Asian.[144]

As of 2015, 14% of the United States' population is foreign born, compared to just 5% in 1965. Nearly 39 million immigrants have come to the U.S. since 1965, with most coming from Asia and Latin America. The 2015 Census Report predicts that the percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born will continue to increase, reaching 19% by 2060. This increase in the foreign-born population will account for a large share of the overall population growth.[144]

The average person in the U.S. of 2060 is likely to be older than the average person of 2018 today, and almost one in four people will be 65 or older.[144]

Percent minority 1970–2042 (2008 projections)

[102]

Note: "Minority" refers to people who reported their ethnicity and race as something other than non-Hispanic White alone in the decennial census.

Total US population

The table below is based mainly on selected data as reported to the United States Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 750,000 or more. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body.[157] In 2004, the US census bureau reported that about 13% of the population did not identify themselves as a member of any religion.[158]

In a Pew Research Survey performed in 2012, Americans without a religion (atheists, agnostics, nothing in particular, etc.) approached the numbers of Evangelical Protestant Americans with almost 20% of Americans being nonreligious (compared to just over 26% being Evangelical Protestant). If this current growth rate continues, by 2050, around 51% of Americans will not have a religion.[159]

Surveys conducted in 2014 and 2019 by Pew indicated that the percentage of Americans unaffiliated with a religion increased from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014 and 26% of the population in 2019.[160][161]

According to statistical data made by the Pew Research Center in 2021 about 63% of the US population is Christian, 28% is Unaffiliated, 2% is Jewish, 1% is Buddhist, 1% follows Islam and 3% follow other religions such as Hinduism, traditional religions and others. Currently, the United States has the largest Christian population in the world (approximately 230-250 million) and the largest Protestant Christian population (approximately 150-160 million). The country also has the second largest Jewish community in the world (after Israel) and the largest Buddhist and Hindu communities in the West, as well as the largest number of followers of Islam in North America. The country has about 64 million non-affiliates (only China and Japan have more).[162]

• 
  Religious affiliation within each state that has the largest deviation compared to the national average, 2001.
• 
  Percentage of state populations that identify with a religion rather than "no religion", 2014.
• 
  Plurality religion by state, 2001. Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.

According to Pew Research Center study released in 2018, by 2040, Islam will surpass Judaism to become the second largest religion in the US due to higher immigration and birth rates.[188]

The United States government does not collect religious data in its census. The survey below, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008, was a random digit-dialed telephone survey of 54,461 American residential households in the contiguous United States. The 1990 sample size was 113,723; 2001 sample size was 50,281.

Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?". Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one-third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.

Religious Self-Identification of the U.S. Adult Population: 1990, 2001, 2008[189]
Figures are not adjusted for refusals to reply; investigators suspect refusals are possibly more representative of "no religion" than any other group.

• 
  States in the United States by Catholic population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.[190] States with Catholic population greater than the United States as a whole are in full red.
• 
  States in the United States by Evangelical Protestant population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.[190] States with Evangelical Protestant populations greater than the United States as a whole are in full orange.

• 
  States in the United States by Mainline or Black Protestant population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.[190] States with Mainline or Black Protestant population greater than the United States as a whole are in full purple.
• 
  States in the United States by non-Christian (e.g. Non-religious, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist) population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.[190] States with non-Christian populations greater than the United States as a whole are in full blue.

• 
  States in the United States by non-Protestant and non-Catholic Christian (e.g. Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Eastern Orthodox) population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.[190] States with non-Catholic/non-Protestant Christian population greater than the United States as a whole are in full green.

Subdivided groups are present when peak boom years or inverted peak bust years are present, and may be represented by a normal or inverted bell-shaped curve (rather than a straight curve). The boom subdivided cohorts may be considered as "pre-peak" (including peak year) and "post-peak". The year 1957 was the baby boom peak with 4.3 million births and 122.7 fertility rate. Although post-peak births (such as trailing edge boomers) are in decline, and sometimes referred to as a "bust", there are still a relatively large number of births. The dearth-in-birth bust cohorts include those up to the valley birth year, and those including and beyond, leading up to the subsequent normal birth rate. The baby boom began around 1943 to 1946.

From the decline in U.S. birth rates starting in 1958 and the introduction of the birth control pill in 1960, the Baby Boomer normal distribution curve is negatively skewed. The trend in birth rates from 1958 to 1961 show a tendency to end late in the decade at approximately 1969, thus returning to pre-WWII levels, with 12 years of rising and 12 years of declining birth rates. Pre-war birth rates were defined as anywhere between 1939 and 1941 by demographers such as the Taeuber's, Philip M. Hauser and William Fielding Ogburn.[204]

Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships in the US, 1970–2000

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2021, the population of the United States grew at a slower rate than in any other year since the country's founding.[205] The U.S. population grew only 0.1% from the previous year before.[205] The United States' population has grown by less than one million people for the first time since 1937, with the lowest numeric growth since at least 1900, when the Census Bureau began yearly population estimates.[205] Apart from the previous few years, when population growth plummeted to historically low levels, the slowest pace of increase in the twentieth century occurred between 1918 and 1919, when the influenza epidemic and World War I were both in full swing.[205] Slower population growth has been the norm in the United States for some years, owing to lower fertility and net international migration, as well as rising mortality from an aging population.[205]

To put it another way, since the mid-2010s, births and net international migration have been dropping while deaths have risen. These trends have a cumulative effect of reduced population increase.[205]

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, resulting in a historically slow population increase in 2021.

The growth rate is 0.1% as estimated for 2021.[205]

The birth rate is 11.0 births/1,000 population, as of 2020.[38] This was the lowest birth rate since records began. There were 3,613,647 births in 2020, this was the lowest number of births since 1980.[38]

11.0 births/1,000 population per year (final data for 2020).

11.4 births/1,000 population per year (final data for 2019).[38]

In 2020, the CDC reported that there were 1,676,911 marriages in 2020, compared to 2019, there were 2,015,603 marriages.[206] Marriage rates varied significantly by state, ranging from 3.2 marriages/1,000 population in California to 21.0 marriages/1,000 population in Nevada.*[207]

• 5.1 marriages/1,000 population per year (provisional data for 2020).[206]
• 6.1 marriages/1,000 population per year (provisional data for 2019).[206]

*Rates are based on provisional counts of marriages by state of occurrence

In 2009, Time magazine reported that 40% of births were to unmarried women.[208] The following is a breakdown by race for unwed births: 17% Asian, 29% White, 53% Hispanics (of any race), 66% Native Americans, and 72% Black American.[209]

According to the CDC, in 2020, there were at least, 1,461,121 births to unmarried women. In 2020, 40.5% of births were to unmarried women. The following is breakdown by race for unwed births: 28.4% Non-Hispanic White, 70.4% Non-Hispanic Black, and 52.8% Hispanic (of any race).[210]

The drop in the birth rate from 2007 to 2009 is believed to be associated with the Great Recession.[211]

A study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that more than half (51 percent) of live hospital births in 2008 and 2011 were male.[212]

Per U.S. federal government data released in March 2011, births fell 4% from 2007 to 2009, the largest drop in the U.S. for any two-year period since the 1970s.[213] Births have declined for three consecutive years, and are now 7% below the peak in 2007.[214] This drop has continued through 2010, according to data released by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics in June 2011.[214] Numerous experts have suggested that this decline is largely a reflection of unfavorable economic conditions.[215] This connection between birth rates and economic downturns partly stems from the fact that American birth rates have now fallen to levels that are comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s.[216] Teen birth rates in the U.S. are at the lowest level in U.S. history.[217] In fact, teen birth rates in the U.S. have consistently decreased since 1991 through 2011, except for a brief increase between 2005 and 2007.[217] The other aberration from this otherwise steady decline in teen birth rates is the 6% decrease in birth rates for 15- to 19-year-olds between 2008 and 2009.[217] Despite these years of decrease, U.S. teen birth rates are still higher than in other developed nations.[217] Racial differences prevail with teen birth and pregnancy rates as well. The American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Black teen pregnancy rates are more than double the non-Hispanic white teen birth rate.[218]