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International migration to the U.S. and Connecticut dropped off in 2025 after a year of strict federal immigration policy under the Trump administration, a trend that slowed Connecticut’s overall population growth.

In recent years, most of Connecticut’s population growth has come from people moving to Connecticut from other countries. This also includes babies born in other countries to U.S. citizens. However, estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau found that international migration to the state dropped off by about half from July through June 2025 compared to the previous year.

Net international migration peaked nationally in 2024 at 2.7 million but in 2025 fell to 1.3 million. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts this number will decline in 2026 to 321,000 international migrants if the trend continues.

International migration has long fueled Connecticut’s population growth. While domestic migration briefly brought more residents to the state in 2021, international migration has grown since.

Despite the drop, the state still gained residents in 2025. However, net population change fell by over 57.5% compared to 2024.

A slowing population can bring issues to Connecticut’s economy. The state’s labor force has relied on immigrant workers to offset the impacts of Connecticut’s aging population, and labor force and jobs fell in recent months, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.

While other factors including inflation and tariffs impacted these numbers as well, a slow-growing population also impacts the economy.

Sasha is a data reporter with The Connecticut Mirror. She focuses on producing data-driven reporting and data visualizations for the newsroom. Prior to joining CT Mirror, Sasha worked part time for the Herald-Mail, a newspaper based in Western Maryland. As a 2025 graduate from the University of Maryland, she worked as a reporter and copy editor for Capital News Service, the university’s wire service, covering the state legislature, the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, school board elections, youth mental health and climate change. Sasha also worked as an intern for the Baltimore Magazine, and was a reporter for the Diamondback, the university’s independent, student-run newspaper.