- US metro area population growth rates saw a significant decline in 2025, particularly in communities along the US-Mexico border and Florida's Gulf Coast.
- The average growth rate for metro areas dropped from 1.1% in 2024 to 0.6% in 2025, primarily attributed to a slowdown in international migration. Border regions such as Laredo, Texas, and Yuma, Arizona, experienced the steepest drops in growth rates, following an influx of immigrants in the previous year.
- Florida's Gulf Coast counties, including Pinellas and Taylor, lost residents due to the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton in late 2024.
- Several midsize metros in Florida and South Carolina had the largest growth rates. Ocala, Florida, located 80 miles (129 km) northwest of Orlando and known for its horse farms, led the nation at 3.4%.
- It was followed by: metro Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which has become a retirement haven; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Lakeland, Florida, located between the much larger metros of Tampa and Orlando; and Punta Gorda, Florida, about 35 miles (56.3 km) north of Fort Myers.
IN FULL
Growth rate slowed in US metro areas in 2025, with steepest drops along the southern border
