US population grew at record-setting slow rate in 2021

The US Census Bureau Vintage 2021 Population Estimates state that the United States population grew by just 0.1 percent in 2021, with the slow pace being exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the downward trend seen in the 21st century.

For the first time since 1937, the US population grew by under 1 million people, "featuring the lowest numeric growth since at least 1900, when the Census Bureau began annual population estimates."

In the 20th century, the slowest rate of growth seen in the population was during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and World War I.

The US Census Bureau cites "decreasing fertility and net international migration, combined with increasing mortality due to an aging population" as reasons for the dismally slow growth this year.

"In other words, since the mid-2010's, births and net international migration have been declining at the same time deaths have been increasing. The collective impact of these trends is slower population growth," the bureau wrote.

Idaho, Utah, and Montana grew the most between 2020 and 2021, increasing in population by 2.9 percent, 1.7 percent, and 1.7 percent respectively.

Other top states that grew in population include Arizona, South Carolina, Delaware, Texas, Florida, Nevada, and South Dakota.

Washington, DC, topped the list of places that decreased in population, losing 2.9 percent of its population between 2020 and 2021.

Other states that topped the decreasing population list include New York, Illinois, Hawaii, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Mississippi.

Fertility rates dropped to 55.4 births per 1,000 in the second quarter of 2021, down from 58.5 during the same period of 2019, according to the Daily Mail.

Other concerning data released by the bureau shows that the number of homes in America with a traditional "nuclear family" have dropped to the lowest it's been since 1959. "The Census Bureau's count showed that 17.8 percent of the United States' 130 million households featured married parents with children under the age of 18," the Daily Mail wrote. That number is down from 18.6 percent in 2020, but down a staggering amount form 40 percent in 1970.