The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, a 9.7% increase from the 2000 United States Census. This was the first census in which all states recorded a population of over 500,000 people as well as the first in which all 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 200,000.

Using the lowest assumptions, the population would grow slowly, peak at 293 million by 2030, then gradually de- cline. Conversely, the highest series projects the population to increase quite steadily over the next several decades, more than doubling its 1990 size by the middle of the next century.

The overall population increased by 27.3 million, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010. Approximately 56 percent of that change resulted from an increase in the Hispanic population, which increased from 35.3 million in 2000 to 50.5 million in 2010.