1. (Slowing) Growth
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The most obvious and constant change to the U.S. population is growth. But 2010 census numbers show that population growth had dropped to 9.7 percent, its lowest level since the Great Depression. The U.S. growth rate has also lagged behind world population growth over the last decade. The 2010 census put the population at 308,745,538, up from 281,421,906 in 2000. The estimated world population of nearly 6.9 billion, meanwhile, is up 12.5 percent from 2000. However, U.S. growth remains ahead of many other developed nations, particularly European countries, whose populations may actually decline between now and 2050.
