Some of the nation’s largest metro areas are losing population as Trump’s immigration crackdown takes hold
Some of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States are shrinking, and the vast majority are seeing slower growth, according to newly released government data.
The U.S. Census Bureau, which released new figures on Thursday, cited a nationwide drop in net international migration as the main factor behind the trend, a shift that coincides with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“The nation’s largest counties like those in the New York metro area are often international migration hubs, gaining large numbers of international migrants and losing people that move to other parts of the country via domestic migration,” George Hayward, a Census Bureau demographer, said in a news release.
“With fewer gains from international migration,” he added, “these types of counties saw their population growth diminish or even turn into loss.”
Among the areas hit hardest were Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego, with New York City also seeing its population drop for the first time in three years. In contrast, several mid-sized and smaller metro areas saw significant growth, including Austin, Raleigh and Myrtle Beach.
The latest Census Bureau data includes year-over-year changes — between July 2024 and July 2025 — within counties and metro areas. The results were compiled using available data on births, deaths and migration flows.
Here is a breakdown of the findings.
Overall, population growth slowed almost everywhere, declining in most of the nation’s 3,143 counties. Among the 2,066 counties that gained residents between 2023 and 2024, nearly 80 percent saw their growth slow or reverse in 2025.
Among the small share of counties that experienced high growth rates, most were concentrated in the Southeast, particularly in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
At the same time, about 80 percent of metropolitan areas — 310 out of 387 — saw fewer people enter between 2024 and 2025 than during the previous year. Notably, the three areas with the steepest decreases are all located along the southern border: Laredo, Texas; Yuma, Arizona; and El Centro, California.
On average, the growth rate in U.S. metro areas stood at 0.6 percent, down from 1.1 percent between 2023 and 2024.
The Census Bureau, which operates under the Commerce Department, highlighted several contributing factors: domestic migration reductions and a reduced birth rate — the U.S. fertility rate stood at a near-record low 1.6 births per woman in 2024.
However, the main driver was the decline of immigrants entering the country from around the globe.
Helen You, the interim director of the Texas Demographic Center, told CBS News that the steep decreases seen along the U.S.-Mexico border highlight the impact of immigration on “year-to-year population change.”
