America’s largest cities were bouncing back from their post-pandemic population losses. But the latest Census Bureau data shows that the post-COVID rebound for many metropolises stalled or reversed in 2025.
Big cities lost population during the pandemic, with nearly half of the largest U.S. cities reporting fewer residents in 2022 than in 2020. By 2024, two-thirds of these cities had begun adding residents again. But in 2025, almost all of them saw that momentum fade, with many recording losses in residents again.
Experts attributed much of it to one primary factor: a steep decline in net international migration…