If you‘ve ever wondered exactly how many people currently live in the United States, you‘re not alone! As online privacy experts, my team and I are fascinated by all kinds of population statistics that provide insights into American society and technology use.
In this in-depth guide, we‘ll explore the most recent data to answer: how many Americans are there in 2023? Beyond just the total figure, we‘ll break down population changes by age, location, and more. Let‘s dive in!
Over 335 Million Americans and Counting
According to the latest estimates from Worldometer, the current US population is around 335,834,650 as of June 2022. For some perspective, that‘s equivalent to over 100 times the entire population of Wyoming living in one country!
This represents an increase of nearly 4 million people since the 2020 Census Bureau count of 331,002,651 Americans. The US remains the third most populous country globally, behind China and India.
In terms of population density, there are now approximately 94 people per square mile across the US. But the population is heavily clustered in urban areas, with over 82% of Americans living in cities and suburbs.
Let‘s visualize the exponential population boom over the last century with this chart:
[Insert line chart showing US population growth from under 100 million in 1900 to over 330 million today]As you can see, the American population has more than tripled within barely 100 years! Next we‘ll break down the age distribution behind these staggering numbers.
America is Getting Older: Adult vs Youth Population
Over three-quarters of the US population, a whopping 258.3 million Americans, are adults age 18 or older as of 2020. That‘s up 10.1% from 234.6 million adults in 2010.
Driving this growth is the aging of the massive baby boomer generation born between 1946 and 1964. As of 2022, boomers range from ages 58 to 76. The result? Unprecedented numbers of Americans reaching retirement age and beyond.
Simultaneously, the population under 18 has declined 1.4% from 74.2 million to 73.1 million youth over the last decade, likely due to falling fertility rates.
Let‘s compare the adult vs youth breakdown across different regions:
- Northeast: 79.7% adults, 20.3% under 18
- Midwest: 77.9% adults, 22.1% under 18
- South: 77.5% adults, 22.5% under 18
- West: 77.2% adults, 22.8% under 18
As you can see, the Northeast has the most top-heavy age distribution while the South skews slightly younger. Overall though, the scale is tipping older across all regions.
For cybersecurity experts like us, these shifting generational patterns have huge implications. As more Americans reach retirement age, we must consider the vulnerabilities and learning curves older generations face in our increasingly digital world. Proactive education and age-friendly security will only grow in importance.
Surging Number of US Households
In addition to tracking the total population, the US Census Bureau counts the number of households. A household represents any occupied housing unit, whether a single family home, apartment, mobile home, or other dwelling type.
As of 2020, there were approximately 128.45 million households across the 50 states. That‘s nearly double the 63 million households that existed in 1970. However, the average size of households has shrunk over the decades from 3.14 persons to just 2.53 today.
So what explains the disconnect between more households but fewer people in each?
For one, young adults are delaying marriage and children, choosing to live alone or with roommates. Divorce rates leading to more single-person homes also play a role.
Additionally, older Americans are increasingly living independently into their 80s and beyond rather than with family. Let‘s examine the household trends by generation:
- In 2020, 28% of Baby Boomers lived alone compared to just 13% in 1990
- From 2007 to 2021, the number of households with millennials jumped by over 2 million
- In 2021, millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest share of homebuyers at 43%
For online privacy geeks like us, mushrooming numbers of smaller, older households have all sorts of security implications. More household routers and devices to protect per person plus potential isolation of elderly Americans are just a couple concerns.
America‘s Hidden Homeless Population
Now for a sobering statistic – how many Americans are homeless? Having a place to call home is a basic necessity that not all of us can take for granted.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development‘s 2022 report, approximately 580,466 Americans experienced homelessness on any given night. That represents 0.17% of the overall population, or 17 in 10,000 Americans unhoused.
After declining for a decade, America‘s homeless population grew for the first time since 2010. The increase is heavily concentrated in high-cost urban areas like Los Angeles and New York City.
With housing affordability worsening nationwide and unemployment still elevated post-pandemic, organizations expect homelessness may continue to rise in coming years barring intervention.
For cybersecurity professionals like us, the homeless population represents an often invisible cohort of Americans disconnected from modern technology and security. Reaching and protecting the most vulnerable among us remains an ongoing challenge.
At Least 9 Million Americans Living Overseas
Up until now, we‘ve focused on Americans residing within the 50 states. But how many citizens live outside the country?
During Overseas American Week 2016, delegates estimated at least 8.7 million Americans lived abroad. That‘s comparable to mega-cities like New York or L.A picking up stakes and moving overseas!
Here‘s the geographic breakdown according to the Government Accountability Office:
- Mexico: 1.2 million
- Canada: 1 million
- Western Europe: 2.1 million
- China: 2.4 million
- India: 911,000
- Philippines: 660,000
With so many Americans living abroad in the digital age, securing data and devices internationally has become a priority for tech professionals like us. Even oceans apart, we‘re all connected through the cloud.
Of course, these figures are from 2015 and the true total today is even higher. Just tracking Americans overseas poses endless challenges from migration to dual citizenship!
The Outlook: Continued Growth Ahead
While a precise population count is impossible, we can confidently project the overall American population will continue surging in the years ahead. We can expect the adult population over 65 to balloon as aging boomers swell the ranks.
Ongoing immigration is also a major contributor. According to Pew Research, immigrants and their descendants have accounted for over half of U.S. population growth since 1965. That diverse influx will reshape our nation in the decades to come.
As cybersecurity geeks, we‘ll continue analyzing the latest demographic statistics to understand how America is changing and what it means for our connected way of life. We hope this deep dive provided some useful insights into the size, scale and composition of the population we spend our careers protecting!
Let us know if you have any other burning population questions, and we‘ll dive into the numbers in a future guide. Stay curious out there!
