How The US Population Changed In 40 Years From 1982 to 2022

Map from USAFacts.org

Between 1982 and 2022, the population grew from 231,665,106 to 333,287,557 people a 44% increase. But all of that growth occurred in the green areas in the map above.

Between 1982 and 2022, Texas had the largest growth with 14.7 million more residents. West Virginia had the largest decline with 174,486 fewer people.

Among counties, Maricopa County, Arizona (where Phoenix is located) had the largest growth with 2.9 million more people. Wayne County, Michigan had the largest decline with 474,963 fewer residents.

When looking at the growth and decline of US counties over the 40 year period you get an even more startling map:

Douglas County, Colorado gained the greatest percentage of people at 1,160.4% whereas Terrel County Texas lost more than half it’s residents.

Here are a few other ways the population has changed:

The US population increased 40 out of the 40 years between year 1982 and year 2022. Its largest annual population increase was 1.4% between 1991 and 1992. Between 1982 and 2022, the country grew by an average of 0.9% per year.

In 2022, the largest racial or ethnic group in the US was the white group, which had a population of 251.6 million. Between 1982 and 2022, the white population had the most growth increasing by 53.6 million from 198 million in 1982 to 251.6 million in 2022.

In 2022, the US was more diverse than it was in 1982. In 2022, the white group made up 75.5% of the population compared with 85.5% in 1982.

Between 1982 and 2022, the share of the population that is Other grew the most, increasing 8.2 percentage points to 10.9%. The white population had the largest decrease dropping 10 percentage points to 75.5%.

Among six age groups — 0 to 4, 5 to 19, 20 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 and older — the 65+ group was the fastest growing between 1982 and 2022 with its population increasing 115.7%. The 0 to 4 age group grew the least increasing 7.6% between 1982 and 2022.

The share of the population that is 0 to 4 years old decreased from 7.4% in 1982 to 5.6% in 2022.

The share of the population that is 65 and older increased from 11.6% in 1982 to 17.3% in 2022.