Posts tagged with "u.s. census"

Census: Immigration is Driving Force Behind US Population Growth

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Recent data shows that immigration is a driving force behind US population growth, contributing to the highest population increase rate in 23 years. This trend highlights the significant role immigration plays in shaping American demographics and culture.

Census Bureau: US Population Growth Surges, International Migration is Key

The US population is booming, and it’s not just because of babies being born. The Census Bureau’s latest report shows that the population grew by almost 1% between 2023 and 2024, the fastest rate since 2001. And the biggest factor? International migration.

Key takeaways:

  • International migration is driving population growth:  Net international migration (people moving into the US minus people moving out) accounted for a whopping 84% of the population increase.
  • Natural increase is slowing down: Births still outnumber deaths, but the gap is narrowing. This means that population growth from births alone isn’t what it used to be.
  • The South is booming: The South saw the biggest population gain of any region, driven by both international and domestic migration.
  • Population decline is rare: Only three states (Vermont, Mississippi, and West Virginia) saw their populations shrink.

Need to know:

  • This growth has major implications for American culture:  The influx of immigrants will likely continue to shape the country’s demographics, politics, and economy.
  • The South’s growth could shift political power: As the South’s population grows, so does its influence in national elections.
  • The slowing natural increase raises questions about the future:  Is the US population going to start shrinking in the coming decades?

Impact on American Culture:

The US has always been a nation of immigrants, and this latest data shows that trend is stronger than ever. The influx of people from all over the world will continue to shape American culture in countless ways, from food and music to language and religion. This rapid population growth also has significant economic and political implications. It could lead to increased demand for housing, education, and healthcare. It could also reshape the political landscape, as new voters and communities emerge.

Overall, the Census Bureau’s report paints a picture of a dynamic and changing America. The population is growing, and the face of the nation is changing along with it. It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of this growth will be, but one thing is for sure: America’s future will be shaped by its newest residents.

Why This Matters:

  • Cultural Diversity: Immigration brings a rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and perspectives to the United States, fostering a diverse and dynamic society.
  • Economic Impact: Immigrants contribute to the US economy as workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers.
  • Social Fabric: Immigration shapes the social fabric of the nation, influencing everything from language to cuisine to the arts.
  • Policy Implications: Understanding the impact of immigration on population growth can inform immigration policies and debates.
  • Demographic Shifts: The increasing population due to immigration will lead to demographic shifts that will shape the future of the country.
  • Global Perspective: The US is not alone in experiencing the effects of immigration on population growth, highlighting the global nature of migration patterns.

Trump’s Second-Term Immigration Plans: A Focus on Deportation

Former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies were a cornerstone of his presidency. While his ambitious goal of mass deportations during his first term fell short, it’s clear that immigration remains a key issue for him. As he looks ahead to his second term, Trump has made clear his intent to implement even stricter immigration measures, with a particular focus on mass deportations.

Trump’s hardline immigration policies have sparked widespread concern and criticism. Opponents argue that mass deportations would be inhumane, tear families apart, and damage the economy. They also raise concerns about potential abuses of power and the targeting of vulnerable populations. Despite these criticisms, Trump’s immigration stance continues to resonate with a significant portion of Americans. His supporters view his policies as necessary to protect national security, preserve jobs for American citizens, and uphold the rule of law.

The Road Ahead

Immigration is a complex and multifaceted issue with significant implications for the United States. Recognizing the contributions of immigrants and understanding the impact of immigration on population growth is crucial for navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

New Study Project Thousands of U.S. Cities Turning Into Ghost Towns by 2100

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A recent Scientific American article highlighted the findings of a depopulation study published in Nature Cities that predicted thousands of U.S. cities will become virtual ghost towns by 2100.

The study was conducted using US census population data from 2000, 2010 and 2020. The article states “These projected findings about depopulation in U.S. cities are shaped by a multitude of factors, including the decline of industry, lower birth rates and the impacts of climate change.”

The study conducted by Nature Cities can be found HERE.

BY RACHEL NUWER

The Urban U.S. could look very different in the year 2100, in part because thousands of cities might be rendered virtual ghost towns. According to findings published in Nature Cities, the populations of some 15,000 cities around the country could dwindle to mere fractions of what they are now. The losses are projected to affect cities everywhere in the U.S. except Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

“The way we’re planning now is all based on growth, but close to half the cities in the U.S. are depopulating,” says senior author Sybil Derrible, an urban engineer at the University of Illinois Chicago. “The takeaway is that we need to shift away from growth-based planning, which is going to require an enormous cultural shift in the planning and engineering of cities.”

Derrible and his colleagues were originally commissioned by the Illinois Department of Transportation to conduct an analysis of how Illinois’s cities are projected to change over time and what the transportation challenges will be for places that are depopulating. As they got deeper into the research, though, they realized that such predictions would be useful to know for cities across the entire U.S.—and not just for major ones, such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. “Most studies have focused on big cities, but that doesn’t give us an estimation of the scale of the problem,” says lead study author Uttara Sutradhar, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago.

The authors analyzed data collected from 2000 to 2020 by the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey, an annual demographics survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. This allowed them to identify current population trends in more than 24,000 cities and to model projections of future trends for nearly 32,000.  They applied the projected trends to a commonly used set of five possible future climate scenarios called the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. These scenarios model how demographics, society and economics could change by 2100, depending on how much global warming the world experiences.

The authors’ resulting projections indicated that around half of cities in the U.S., including Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo, N.Y., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are likely to experience depopulation of 12 to 23 percent by 2100. Some of those cities, including Louisville, Ky., New Haven, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., are not currently showing declines but are likely to in the future, according to the findings. “You might see a lot of growth in Texas right now, but if you had looked at Michigan 100 years ago, you probably would have thought that Detroit would be the largest city in the U.S. now,” Derrible says.

The full article by Nuwer on America’s projected depopulation can be found in Scientific American and by clicking HERE.

Homelessness And The U.S. Census

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BY JOHN LENOIR

I came to Austin to work the 2020 census and spend time with family here. Through the census I got an up-close look at the nooks and crannies of the city, and nose-to-nose encounters with Austinites living in its jewels of Westlake and between its toes under highway bridges and behind parking lots.

At the direction of the U.S. Census, my team and I were required to meet with residents and ask the formulaic questions about age, race and whether they owned or rented their homes. Knocking on a door in Bee Cave or Westlake generally involved getting through layers of security gates to reach breath-taking homes with pools, expansive views, or private docks on the lake. I got a lot of “Leave-Me-Alone” responses often couched as “I’m really busy,” and “I’ll do it online.” The underlying dynamic was, “You are uninvited on my property,” and “How did you get past security?”

When we completed the door-knocking count, selected teams focused on finding and counting Austinites in the tortured census acronym, TNSOL (Targeted Nonstructured Outdoor Locations) — in other words, the homeless. It was easy to follow the highways to find the tent and tarp communities under the overpass intersections. More challenging was to locate people disbursed in the woods, behind Walmart dumpsters and wherever they could catch a piece of dry land near an intersection where they could “fly” their cardboard signs asking for money.

We were fortunate to have introductions from support crews such as the Travis County constable, whose Precinct 3 team seeks out the most isolated encampments to deliver food and water. Other church-based and nonprofit organizations provide food and clean water to various camps — lifelines to a population that lives in the margins. Many people we encountered seemed to suffer from addictions and illnesses that they said cost them their jobs and put them on the street in the first place. In the one officially sanctioned homeless encampment on a former state Department of Transportation storage yard, I had expected to see rows of identical tents or temporary structures like the UN refugee camps in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Here, the hundred-plus inhabitants of Camp Esperanza make their own shelters through a hodgepodge of tarps, tents and cardboard.

With the homeless there was, of course, the quiet ‘Leave-Me-Alone’ posture when we approached. But this was different. There was not the ‘Get Off My Property’ look of the high-grounders and lakesiders. The homeless were acutely aware that they have no right to be where they were and possess absolutely no property to protect. The ‘Leave-Me-Alone’ looks we got behind the iron security gates said, ‘I am where I want to be, doing what I want to do.’ The ‘Leave-Me-Alone’ under Highway 183 meant, I am in a place no one wants to be, subject to eviction, and I am humiliated. Their security moats were fear and despair. But they also seemed to project a sense of small pride in the resourcefulness to have put together enough shelter to stay alive. And as it was particularly dangerous to be alone in the woods, there were touching stories of taking in others recently on the street.

Once the regular follow-up door knocking cases started winding down, a few field supervisors like myself volunteered to take on managing teams counting the homeless population during the fourth week of September. Very few of the original crews opted to switch and take on the TNSOL. I heard concerns about the added dangers of COVID-19 exposure, unfamiliarity with the homeless population and, frankly, no interest in becoming familiar with the homeless camps. The census began recruiting people to work with the homeless; the team members I ended up working with each had a heart for the task. I was proud of them.

They were committed to getting a full and accurate count of the homeless population, and we were able to get through the Leave-Me-Alone defenses behind the tarps by acknowledging the human dignity of the people we were to “enumerate” and convincing them that they were to be counted just like everybody else in Austin, no matter where they lived.

Lenoir is a retired federal prosecutor living in Austin.