Census PEP · Vintage 2025
What changed in US city population?
A release-diff report comparing Census Population Estimates Program figures for 2020 and 2025. Every number below is computed from two stored releases for the same place, never estimated by an editor.
- 2,884
- Cities that grew
- 1,841
- Cities that declined
- +2.8%
- Eligible-place change
Among 4,778 eligible U.S. incorporated cities (PEP-tracked, ≥5,000 residents in 2020), 2,884 grew and 1,841 declined between 2020 and 2025 per Census PEP Vintage 2025.
National eligible-place population moved +5,486,968 (+2.8%) from 2020 to 2025. Every figure is computed from stored PEP releases for the same place, not editorial estimates. See state rollups and top gainers/decliners below.
- 2,884 cities grew
- 1,841 cities declined
- +2.8% eligible-place change
Eligibility matches the growth and decline rankings: incorporated places PEP tracks that had at least 5,000 residents in 2020 (4,778 of 18,101 PEP-covered places). See the fastest-growing and losing-population lists for the full top-100 tables.
Eligible-place population, 2025
198,305,538
+5,486,968 (+2.8%) vs 2020
Cities that grew
2,884
of 4,778 eligible places
Cities that declined
1,841
53 unchanged to one decimal
Largest percentage gains
Steepest population growth rates among eligible places, 2020→2025. Absolute change is shown for context.
| City | 2020 | 2025 | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulshear, TX | 17,185 | 64,630 | +47,445 | +276.1% |
| Celina, TX | 18,033 | 64,427 | +46,394 | +257.3% |
| Princeton, TX | 17,501 | 43,524 | +26,023 | +148.7% |
| Iowa Colony, TX | 8,550 | 20,503 | +11,953 | +139.8% |
| Dripping Springs, TX | 5,122 | 11,167 | +6,045 | +118.0% |
| Northlake, TX | 5,524 | 12,036 | +6,512 | +117.9% |
| Hardeeville, SC | 7,764 | 16,459 | +8,695 | +112.0% |
| Melissa, TX | 14,339 | 29,969 | +15,630 | +109.0% |
| Royse City, TX | 13,780 | 28,307 | +14,527 | +105.4% |
| Manvel, TX | 10,138 | 20,699 | +10,561 | +104.2% |
| Anna, TX | 17,616 | 35,245 | +17,629 | +100.1% |
| Paradise, CA | 5,090 | 10,023 | +4,933 | +96.9% |
| Wendell, NC | 9,997 | 19,687 | +9,690 | +96.9% |
| Davenport, FL | 9,684 | 18,110 | +8,426 | +87.0% |
| Star, ID | 11,488 | 20,874 | +9,386 | +81.7% |
Largest percentage declines
Steepest population losses among eligible places that actually declined. A city that merely grew slowly never appears here.
| City | 2020 | 2025 | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susanville, CA | 16,443 | 12,816 | -3,627 | -22.1% |
| Town of Pecos, TX | 13,003 | 10,386 | -2,617 | -20.1% |
| Cameron, MO | 9,120 | 7,341 | -1,779 | -19.5% |
| McRae-Helena, GA | 6,640 | 5,443 | -1,197 | -18.0% |
| Blythe, CA | 17,816 | 15,042 | -2,774 | -15.6% |
| Big Spring, TX | 26,289 | 22,290 | -3,999 | -15.2% |
| California, PA | 5,369 | 4,615 | -754 | -14.0% |
| Helena-West Helena, AR | 9,460 | 8,216 | -1,244 | -13.2% |
| Tallulah, LA | 6,252 | 5,517 | -735 | -11.8% |
| California City, CA | 15,081 | 13,300 | -1,781 | -11.8% |
| Forest Hills, TN | 5,017 | 4,473 | -544 | -10.8% |
| Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, GA | 9,468 | 8,465 | -1,003 | -10.6% |
| Calipatria, CA | 6,724 | 6,012 | -712 | -10.6% |
| Bexley, OH | 13,909 | 12,452 | -1,457 | -10.5% |
| Greenville, MS | 29,497 | 26,530 | -2,967 | -10.1% |
States with the fastest eligible-place growth
Sum of PEP populations for eligible places in each state, not the state's total population.
| State | % | Grew | Declined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | +11.3% | 34 | 0 |
| South Carolina | +10.1% | 50 | 13 |
| North Carolina | +8.1% | 123 | 15 |
| South Dakota | +8.1% | 13 | 4 |
| Utah | +7.9% | 70 | 23 |
| Florida | +7.7% | 185 | 38 |
| Texas | +7.5% | 275 | 82 |
| Nevada | +7.5% | 9 | 3 |
| Arizona | +6.1% | 41 | 14 |
| Montana | +6.1% | 14 | 4 |
States with the slowest eligible-place change
Lowest (most negative or least positive) percent change on the same eligible-place sum.
| State | % | Grew | Declined |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | -2.3% | 6 | 20 |
| Hawaii | -1.9% | 0 | 1 |
| Louisiana | -1.8% | 19 | 41 |
| New York | -1.2% | 70 | 95 |
| Mississippi | -0.8% | 28 | 32 |
| Pennsylvania | -0.6% | 83 | 106 |
| Alaska | -0.5% | 5 | 6 |
| Michigan | -0.4% | 49 | 104 |
| Illinois | -0.3% | 116 | 212 |
| California | -0.2% | 153 | 267 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 · 2020–2025 Eligible-place sums include only incorporated places with ≥5,000 residents in 2020. They are not state total population.
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.