South Carolina and Florida were the two fastest-growing states in the U.S. this year. New estimates released by the U.S.

South Carolina and Florida were the two fastest-growing states in the U.S., as the South dominated population gains in 2023, and the U.S. growth rate ticked upward slightly from the depths of the pandemic due to a drop in deaths, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The United States added 1.6 million people, of which more than two-thirds came from international migration. The half percent growth rate was a slight uptick from the 0.4% growth rate last year and the less than 2% increase in 2021.

The growth rate “is an uptick from the pandemic but still low by historical standards,” said William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution.

Population gains or losses come from births outpacing deaths, or vice versa, and migration.