The population of the United States has grown almost 123 times since the first federal census was conducted after the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
In 1780, the nearest available Census Bureau population estimate to the signing, nearly 2.8 million people lived in the first 13 states of the U.S.
There are now around 342 million people living across the U.S., according to estimates for July this year.
AP
Why It Matters
The annual Fourth of July population snapshot from the Census Bureau highlights the scale of demographic growth in the U.S.
The U.S. population now far exceeds the population of any European nation, including Germany’s at around 84 million, and the United Kingdom’s at nearly 70 million.
The U.S. population is nearly half that of all European nations combined, at roughly 745 million.
What To Know
The 13 British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776 and became the first U.S. states were Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The first federal census was not conducted until 1790, but the Census Bureau estimates that Pennsylvania’s population was 302,000 in 1775 based on counts conducted during the Colonial and Continental periods.
As of 2024, the state’s population had grown to around 13.1 million, more than 43 times larger, according to the Census Bureau.
While the U.S. population has continued to grow, there have been longstanding concerns about the country’s birth rate as people live longer and have fewer children.
Newsweek has broken down how births in the U.S. have declined over the last 50 years here.
Fertility rates are projected to average 1.6 births per woman over the next three decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office‘s latest forecast released this year.
This number is well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said during a speech in December: “We want more babies, to put it nicely.”
Vice President JD Vance said in January: “We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life.
“Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society. So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”
What Happens Next
As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, population growth trends are expected to remain a key focus for lawmakers and researchers.
Slowing birth rates, aging populations, and debates over immigration will influence how the U.S. continues to grow.