What was the population of the US in 2024
Executive summary
The most widely cited official U.S. population estimate for 2024 is about 340 million people, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual population estimates that prompted headlines noting the nation “surpassed 340 million” in 2024 [1] [2]. Different agencies and private trackers report slightly different totals—ranging from about 340 million to roughly 342 million—depending on methodology and which population measure they use [3] [4].
1. The headline figure: “340 million” and where it came from
Late‑2024 releases from the U.S. Census Bureau and major news outlets summarized the bureau’s updated methodology and estimates by reporting that the U.S. population reached roughly 340 million in 2024, a nearly 1% increase driven largely by immigration and new accounting for humanitarian admissions [1] [2]. The Associated Press and USA Today emphasized that net international migration accounted for most of the nation’s 2024 growth and that the bureau’s revisions to migration estimation contributed materially to the jump to the 340‑million mark [2] [1].
2. Slightly different official and analytical tallies: why numbers differ
Demographers and budget agencies use different population concepts and projection methods; for example, the Congressional Budget Office cites a 2024 population of about 342 million in the context of its Social Security–relevant “Social Security area” population measure, which differs from the Census Bureau’s headline total and projection inputs [4]. Independent data aggregators and economic trackers also publish variant 2024 figures—Trading Economics lists an estimate of about 341.2 million for 2024—reflecting reliance on different vintages of Census data, UN projections, or smoothing and extrapolation methods [5] [6].
3. What the Census Bureau actually reported and methodological changes
The Census Bureau’s 2024 annual estimates incorporated revised international migration measures that added people admitted for humanitarian parole and updated other migration inputs, producing the sharpest annual growth since 2001 and a net gain of roughly 3.3 million people between 2023 and 2024, with net international migration accounting for about 84% of that increase, per bureau summaries and reporting [2]. The bureau’s online Population Clock and the Population Estimates Program are the source of the 340‑million‑class headline and provide the most direct official estimate series [7] [3].
4. Reconciling the spread: use-case matters for choosing a number
Which 2024 number to use depends on purpose: journalists and general public outlets cite the Census headline “about 340 million” because it reflects the bureau’s annual national estimate released in late 2024 [1] [2]; fiscal and long‑term policy work may prefer the CBO’s 342‑million Social Security area or other analytic populations that adjust for institutional populations and projection conventions [4]. Private sites and aggregators (Worldometer, Trading Economics, CountryMeters, WorldPopulationReview) publish live or interpolated counts that can vary by a few million because they extrapolate between official releases or adopt different baseline vintages [6] [8] [9] [5].
5. Bottom line and limits of reporting
The best concise answer supported by the sources: the U.S. population in 2024 was reported at about 340 million by the Census Bureau and major news outlets, while alternative official or analytic measures range up to about 342 million depending on definitions and projection methods [1] [2] [4]. This summary is limited to the sources provided; if a reader needs a single precise count for a specific legal, fiscal, or academic purpose, the appropriate next step is to consult the Census Bureau’s final 2024 Population Estimates release or the specific agency’s population definition being applied [7] [3].