Dallas County Population Shrinks Amid Immigration Slowdown, Census Shows

Dallas County is shrinking. 

For several years now, census data has painted a worrying picture: that the nexus of booming North Texas may not be booming itself. In fact, Dallas County has suffered from stagnation. Last year, annual births only just edged out deaths to maintain the population’s bottom line. 

But between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, Dallas County fell into the red, the latest census data shows. We lost just over 2,600 residents during that time, even as our more rural neighbors, Collin and Kaufman Counties, grew. Only eight other counties across the U.S. lost more residents. 

Dallas County is not alone in this. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a majority of metros experienced slower population growth last year than the year before. Growth in metro areas fell, on average, from 1.1% in 2024 to 0.6% in 2025, and the bureau directly attributes the slowdown to a steep decline in international migration. 

“Nine out of 10 U.S. counties experienced lower [net international migration] levels between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, compared to the year prior,” the bureau said. “The one in 10 counties that did not see a drop in international migration did not see an increase either.” 

The data suggests that hardline immigration policies enforced after President Donald Trump took office at the beginning of 2025 had a significant and immediate effect. The number of individuals crossing into the United States illegally plummeted in 2025, with the Department of Homeland Security reporting the lowest number of border apprehensions since 1970. 

The administration has also enacted stricter visa requirements for a number of countries and promoted widespread deportations, which the bureau acknowledges may be reflected in the year’s census data. In Dallas County, immigrant migration fell 52% between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, compared to the statistical year prior, The New York Times reports. 

“Currently, the estimates of [net international migration] are trending toward negative net migration. If those trends continue, it would be the first time the United States has seen net negative migration in more than 50 years,” the bureau said. 

Even harder hit by the drop in immigration than Dallas County are towns along the Texas-Mexico border. El Paso saw a 95% decline in net immigration during the study period, and nearly a dozen other counties along the border saw declines of more than 50%. 

Immigration has historically been a major driver of population growth in major metros, The New York Times reports, but last year it fell by more than half nationally. As birthrates have declined and as Baby Boomers have aged, immigration has helped the United States’ major metropolitan areas maintain populations and fill the workforce. 

If the trend recorded in the latest census continues, it could result in potentially debilitating demographic changes across the U.S. 

“Now, it’s immigration fueling much more of the gain,” Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire, told the Times. “So any change in immigration has a huge impact on demographic trends.”