What's the US population
Executive summary
The most current, widely cited estimates place the United States population in January 2026 at roughly 348.3 million people, with short-term live counters and independent trackers clustering around that figure while federal projections put the 2026 population slightly higher at 349 million; differences reflect methodology (real-time extrapolations, midyear estimates, or projection models) rather than a substantive disagreement about scale [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Multiple independent trackers report numbers in the mid-348 million range, while the Congressional Budget Office cites 349 million in its 2026 projection used for fiscal forecasting [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Snapshot: what the trackers report now
Several online population clocks and demographic aggregators that update daily or continuously give figures clustered around 348.2–348.3 million in mid- to late-January 2026, with Worldometer reporting 348,261,261 as of January 13, 2026 and other trackers (PopulationToday, NationsGeo) showing 348,297,004 on January 26, 2026—these live counters use UN or Census inputs and real-time birth/death/migration rates to compute current totals [1] [2] [3].
2. The official and the projected: Census versus CBO and UN-based estimates
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Clock is the official federal real-time estimator of residents, and while the specific number from that clock wasn’t captured in the supplied excerpts, the government clock is routinely cited as the authoritative ongoing estimate [6]. For planning and budgeting, the Congressional Budget Office projects a 2026 population of 349 million and uses that figure in its 30-year demographic outlook, noting that growth is slowing and future increases will depend heavily on immigration [4] [5].
3. Why numbers differ: methodology, timing and projections
Discrepancies among sources come down to timing (midyear census estimates versus live daily counters), the base data used (Census intercensal estimates, UN revisions, or proprietary interpolations), and whether a number is an estimate for a specific date or a projection for a calendar year; for example, some sites interpolate UN midyear estimates to produce a continuous “current” figure while CBO’s 349 million is a projection grounded in laws and policies as of September 30, 2025 and used for fiscal forecasts [1] [7] [5]. Independent sites such as CountryMeters and GeoRank produce other live totals—CountryMeters showed about 345.3 million on January 17, 2026—underscoring that methodological choices and refresh timing matter [8] [9].
4. The trend: growth is slowing and projections diverge long-term
Forecasters agree the U.S. population growth has slowed and is projected to decelerate further: CBO projects growth from about 349 million in 2026 to 364 million by 2056, and notes that after 2030 deaths will exceed births and net immigration will account for most growth [4] [5]. News coverage synthesizing the CBO outlook highlights that reduced immigration and lower birth rates have trimmed projected growth by several million relative to prior forecasts, emphasizing demographic and policy drivers of future totals [10].
5. Bottom line and limits of the reporting
For immediate, practical purposes the best-supported answer is that the U.S. population in January 2026 is approximately 348.3 million, with the Congressional Budget Office using a rounded projection of 349 million for 2026 in federal forecasting; variations in published figures reflect different data sources, update cadences, and whether a number is an estimate or projection [1] [2] [3] [4]. This analysis is limited to the supplied reporting and does not include a fresh pull from the Census Bureau’s live clock at the moment of reading; where exactitude to the individual is required, the Census Population Clock and CBO report are the primary references [6] [5].