Census: U.S. population will be 327 million on New Year’s Day
New York State remains the fourth most populous in the nation, behind California, Texas and Florida, according to census data. Above, Manhattan's Union Square on March 27, 2014. Credit: Getty Images / Spencer Platt
The U.S. population is growing by one person every 18 seconds and is expected to be nearly 327 million on New Year’s Day, the Census Bureau predicted Thursday in its annual end-of-year data release.
The country gained 2.3 million people since Jan. 1 through a combination of births over deaths and immigration, the Census projected.
One person is expected to be born every eight seconds while another dies every 10 seconds in the United States. Immigration adds one person every 29 seconds.
The national population growth rate — 0.71 percent — was effectively flat over last year, about the same rate as was reported at the end of 2016.
Demographers have said the annual population growth rate is on track to be as low as it was during the Great Depression. The main reasons are a declining birthrate and aging population.
“We are heading to the lowest growth rate in this nation since the 1930s. Then, it was an economic impact. Here, it’s an aging of the population,” said William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution based in Washington D.C. “This shows things are not picking up.”
Since Census Day on April 1, 2010, the U.S. population has grown by about 18 million, or 5.9 percent. The next formal Census Bureau count, as mandated in the Constitution for Congressional apportionment, is two years away, in 2020.
Frey says “it will be interesting to see how immigration will impact population growth” and whether it will be enough to counter the effects of a low birthrate.
New York saw one-tenth of the population growth of the nation, at 0.07 percent between July 2016 and July 2017, according to census estimates released last Wednesday.
The state remained the fourth most populous in the nation, behind California, Texas and Florida.
The projected world population on Jan. 1, 2018, is 7,444,443,881, an increase of 78,521,283, or 1.07 percent, from New Year’s Day 2017.
During January 2018, 4.3 births and 1.8 deaths are expected worldwide every second, according to the Census Bureau.
Population estimates, by the numbers
- 327 million, the U.S. population on Jan. 1, 2018.
- 7.44 billion, the world population on Jan. 1, 2018.
- 0.71 percent, U.S. population growth rate for 2017.
- 1.07 percent, world population growth rate for 2017.
U.S. Census Bureau
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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