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InsightHorizon Digest

What cities are shrinking

Author

Emma Miller

Updated on April 20, 2026

Five metros lost people in 2020 after growing in 2019: Worcester, Mass.; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Baltimore; New Orleans; and Lansing, Mich. Two, San Diego and Providence, R.I., grew in 2020 after shrinking in 2019.

Which cities are shrinking the fastest?

Topping the list of fastest shrinking cities in America was Pine Bluff, Arkansas, followed by Danville, Illinois. Reports cite these area’s dependency on dwindling industrial and manufacturing jobs as the primary cause for the significant drops in population.

Which cities are growing and which are shrinking?

RankCityGrowth Rate 2014-20191St. Louis-1.1%2Baltimore-1.0%3Anchorage-0.8%4Toledo-0.6%

What is the fastest shrinking city in the US?

In the last decade, the fastest shrinking city out of the country’s 384 metropolitan areas was Pine Bluff, Ark., southeast of Little Rock, where the population dropped by 12.5 percent between 2010 and 2020, according to The New York Times. The population is now 87,751, down from 100,258, Business Insider reports.

Are cities growing or shrinking in the US?

Between 2010 and 2020, the population of U.S. metro areas grew by 9%, while the population of U.S. micro areas grew by 1%. All metro and micro areas in Puerto Rico lost population during that period. The nation’s 10 largest incorporated places (cities) all grew this past decade.

Is Los Angeles shrinking?

Overall, Los Angeles lost nearly 52,000 people, the third straight year of decline that has put its population at just over 3.9 million. … But those numbers showed California’s population as of April 2020. The numbers the state released Friday reflect California’s population as of January 2021.

Is Detroit a dying city?

The city of Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan, has gone through a major economic and demographic decline in recent decades. The population of the city has fallen from a high of 1,850,000 in 1950 to 680,000 in 2015, removing it from the top 20 of US cities by population for the first time since 1850.

What state is losing the most population?

The low rate of national population growth is reflected in the slow growth or population declines across states. Three states lost population from 2010 to 2020: West Virginia, Mississippi, and Illinois. This is the highest number of population-losing states since the 1980s.

What city is losing the most population?

The Bay Area, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago were among the population losers in 2020, new census estimates show. Austin grew the most. The nation’s most urban counties lost population for the second year in a row, according to new census population estimates released Tuesday for the year ending July 1, 2020.

What state is losing population the fastest?

Among the three states that lost residents during the 2010s, West Virginia shrunk the fastest with a population drop equivalent to 0.32% a year, ending 2020 with approximately 60,000 fewer people than in 2010.

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Is population of California declining?

California’s population declined by 173,000 between July 2020 and July 2021, bringing the estimated total to 39.37 million, according to state figures released Friday. … The 0.44% decline is slightly less than the population loss reported for 2020, demographers said.

Is Seattle growing or shrinking?

Seattle’s population grew by 21% to 737,015 people and King County swelled by more than 300,000 residents since 2010, according to new U.S. Census data released Thursday. The breakneck growth numbers place the region among the fastest-growing in the country.

Are suburbs growing or shrinking?

Urban, suburban regions flourish while rural areas decline The census found that more than half of U.S. counties shrank over the past decade. Overall, metropolitan areas grew by 9% compared with only 1% growth for smaller areas. … The urban/rural divide has played out in American politics over the past decade.

Which state is losing the most population 2021?

Top 10 States (or Equivalent)in Numeric Decline, 2020 to 2021RankGeographic AreaJuly 1, 20211New York19,835,9132California39,237,8363Illinois12,671,469

Is Boston losing residents?

Between 1950 and 1980, Boston’s total population dropped from 801,000 to 562,000. By 1990, Boston’s Black population had inched up to 23.8% — a high watermark. There it stayed in 2000, before slipping to 22.4% in 2010, then 19.1% in the 2020 census.

Is Chicago a city in decline?

Overall, the city’s population grew nearly 2% from 2010 to 2020 — from 2.6 million residents to 2.7 million, according to data released from the 2020 census. That’s a change from the population decline the city had experienced from 2000 to 2010, when the city lost nearly 7% of its population.

Will Detroit ever recover?

University economists predict Detroit’s economy will rebound faster than the state’s thanks to “several large projects” including the Stellantis’ Mack Avenue plant expansion, the Gordie Howe International Bridge project and the new Amazon distribution center expected to come online before 2026.

Is Detroit safe to visit?

Detroit is generally safe for tourists, though some neighborhoods are best avoided. A crime that does occur is mainly between members of street gangs or individuals who know each other, and in areas that are of no interest to visitors. Avoid sketchy neighborhoods and take normal precaution measures.

How bad is Detroit Michigan?

In 2020 Detroit reported 14,370 violent crimes and had a violent crime rate of 2,248.44 per 100,000 people. The national average for violent crime is 398.5 per 100,000 residents. Detroit’s violent crime rate is 5.6 times greater than the national average.

Is NYC shrinking?

The Census Bureau’s annual population estimates had New York City’s population peaking in 2016 at 8.47 million. By 2020, the bureau said, the city’s population had declined steadily, by about 220,000 people.

Why is Chicago's population declining?

New data showed domestic migration continued to be the only reason for Illinois’ population decline. Illinois’ population decline is being driven entirely by residents choosing to live in other states, estimates released May 4 by the U.S. Census Bureau again confirm.

Is New Orleans declining?

New Orleans, Louisiana La Nouvelle-Orléans (French)U.S. HighwaysUS 11 US 61 US 90 US 90 Bus.

What city has shrunk the most since its population peak?

  1. St. Louis.
  2. Detroit. • Decline from 1950 decade peak: -63.6% • 1950 population: 1.85 million. …
  3. Cleveland. • Decline from 1950 decade peak: -58.0% • 1950 population: 914,808. …
  4. Buffalo. • Decline from 1950 decade peak: -55.8% • 1950 population: 580,132. …
  5. Pittsburgh. • Decline from 1950 decade peak: -64.7% • 1950 population: 676,806. …

Which US city has shrunk the most since its population peak?

New Orleans. New Orleans, like many major American cities, saw its population decrease considerably over the latter half of the 20th century, losing almost 50% of the population from its peak in 1960.

What will the population be in 2021?

YearWorld PopulationYearly Change20217,874,965,8251.03 %20227,953,952,5671.00 %20238,031,800,4290.98 %20248,108,605,3880.96 %

Is world population declining?

The global growth rate in absolute numbers accelerated to a peak of 92.9 million in 1988, but has declined to 81.3 million in 2020. Long-term projections indicate that the growth rate of the human population of this planet will continue to decline, and that by the end of the 21st century, it will reach zero.

Why is Hawaii losing population?

The state’s population has been declining for three years. Experts worry that the economy will suffer as more people move away due to changes caused by the coronavirus. … Cost of living and economic hardship have historically been among the top reasons driving residents away from Hawaii.

Is California shrinking?

It shrank California’s population. According to new data released today by the state Department of Finance, California’s population declined by 182,083 people in 2020. That’s the first time that annual statistic has come with a minus sign since 1900, when the department began collecting these estimates.

What state lost the most residents in 2020?

Mississippi, Illinois and West Virginia were the only states to lose population in the 2020 census. Iowa continued its century-long trend of growing slower than the national average, according to the Des Moines Register.

What is the fastest growing city in the US?

City, StateGrowth Rate1.Buckeye City, Arizona5%2.New Braunfels, Texas2%3.Apex, North Carolina8%4.Frisco, Texas6.1%

What is the ethnic breakdown of California?

No race or ethnic group constitutes a majority of California’s population: 39% of state residents are Latino, 36% are white, 15% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 6% are African American, fewer than 1% are Native American or Alaska Natives, and 3% are multiracial or other, according to the 2019 American Community Survey.