US population growth slowed in 2025, particularly in urban counties, because immigration fell, according to new Census Bureau estimates released recently. All types of counties—including suburbs, smaller metropolitan areas, and rural areas—saw population rise more slowly in 2025 than in 2023 and 2024 (figure 1). The only other years in this century when urban counties lagged all other types of places in growth were 2020–22, when people moved out of cities during the pandemic, and 2003–06, when the housing bubble boosted housing construction in outlying suburban areas and drew new residents…