America's population is set to peak at nearly 370 million in 2080 before falling - raising tough questions about the cost of having kids and immigration, as Hispanic numbers rise and whites fall to as low as 42%
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The US population looks set to rise to nearly 370 million in 2080 before starting to decline, new government data show, raising tough questions about immigration and the cost of having children.
US Census Bureau projections released on Thursday show that the population will then fall to 366 million from 2081 to 2100, thanks to lower birth rates, an aging population, higher death rates and cross-border migration.
The population growth rate between 2022 and 2100 will be 9.7 percent, the bureau said — far lower than the nation has grown by throughout most of its history.
That change will strain the US economy.
![America's population looks set to fall, unless arrivals from overseas buck up the numbers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/09/16/77608663-12730171-image-a-2_1699546355046.jpg)
America's population looks set to fall, unless arrivals from overseas buck up the numbers
![Steven Camarota, a researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, says immigration doesn't significantly boost the working age population](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/09/16/77610129-12730171-image-a-1_1699546266800.jpg)
Steven Camarota, a researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, says immigration doesn't significantly boost the working age population
With fewer younger, tax-paying workers to support the elderly, officials will struggle to balance budgets and make payouts for Medicare and other welfare schemes.
It may also affect Washington's geopolitical standing, as it competes with such rising powers as China and India, which already have more than 1.4 billion people each.
Sandra Johnson, a demographer at the Census Bureau, said the new projections were 'crucial for shaping policies and planning resources.'
They indicated a 'slower pace of population growth through 2060 than was previously projected,' she added.
The makeup of the US population, which currently stands at around 332 million, also looks set to change.
The share of white Americans looks set to drop from 58.9 percent now to as low as 42.7 percent by 2060.
Meanwhile, the Hispanic population could grow from 19.1 percent to as high as 27.8 percent over the same period.
The share of black Americans looks set to hold steady at 13 percent.
The bureau offered different population projections, based on whether the US has high, low, or zero rates of incoming migrants.
![New naturalized US citizens take the Oath of Allegiance at a ceremony in New York City — perhaps the only way America can pump up its numbers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/09/16/77608665-12730171-image-a-3_1699546595960.jpg)
New naturalized US citizens take the Oath of Allegiance at a ceremony in New York City — perhaps the only way America can pump up its numbers
Immigrants are typically younger and have more children than native-born Americans.
Letting in more migrants could keep the US population growing.
In the bureau's high immigration scenario, the US population would climb to 435 million in 2100.
For some, the report is a wake-up call to boost immigration — perhaps the only single lever officials have to halt the decline.
But that's problematic. Republicans and Democrats have for decades failed to agree on various packages for updating the country's immigration policies.
Meanwhile, the scenes of chaos at the southern border and record numbers of asylum seekers entering the US have become hot-button issues in next year's presidential race.
Nico Perrino, executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, warned on social media of 'huge consequences for economic growth and social safety net.'
![But immigration remains a divisive topic, thanks to scenes like this of migrants, many undocumented, arriving at the southern border](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/09/16/77611231-12730171-image-a-4_1699546666619.jpg)
But immigration remains a divisive topic, thanks to scenes like this of migrants, many undocumented, arriving at the southern border
Unless the US lets in immigrants, the population could start falling as soon as next year, he said.
Steve Cortes disagreed. The founder of the League of American Workers, an advocacy group, said 'globalists' have a habit of saying the 'solution is always more immigration.'
The real problem was the hardship faced by US families — where 16 percent of children live in poverty, and where childcare costs have soared by 32 percent since 2019 — he added.
'Let's incentivize more children for American families!' Cortes posted on X/Twitter.
Steven Camarota, a researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-migrant think tank, took issue with the bureau's findings.
Immigration 'does not significantly increase the working-age share of the population,' Camarota wrote.
The data are the bureau's first such updates since 2017 and the first to reflect the death rates and other shifts from the COVID-19 pandemic.