LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer celebrated Michigan’s population growth in a recent press release, claiming the state added 27,992 residents in 2025. But that framing glosses over the most important detail: nearly all of the growth came from international migration, not from a surge of more babies being born or Americans flocking to Michigan.

What the “added” number really means.

The 27,992 figure she cites is an estimated net population change, not a count of new people choosing Michigan. The net change combines four factors: births minus deaths plus domestic migration (1,796 people) and international migration (30,706 people). Census data show more deaths than births during the period, meaning natural population change was negative before migration is counted.

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When those four factors are totaled for July 1, 2024–July 1, 2025, Michigan ends up with roughly +27,922 more people overall, not the 27,992 number reported in Whitmer’s statement which appears to contain a typo when compared with U.S. Census estimates.

Without an influx of people from outside the country, the state’s population would have declined, reflecting a broader national trend driven by President Donald J. Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportation policies, which have contributed to slower population growth nationwide.