Census

The Hill -   The population of some of the largest U.S. metro areas is falling amid a decline in immigration, according to new estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data found that most U.S. metropolitan areas saw slower growth between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, than during the previous year. Metro areas along the U.S. border with Mexico saw the sharpest population declines, shifts the agency said were driven by a nationwide drop in net international migration. 

....Los Angeles County, while still the largest in the country by more than 4.5 million, declined the most, by nearly 54,000. Miami-Dade County in Florida, San Diego and Orange counties in California, and Kings County in New York also garnered the joint distinction of being in top 10 in population and numeric decline. 

The Census Bureau said slower growth, or even decline, in the populations of the largest counties can be traced to more births than deaths and negative net migration. 

While the U.S. birth rate increased by 1 percent from 2023 to 2024, it is still multiple percentage points lower than it was throughout the second half of the 20th century and early 2000s.