Several states have experienced drops in urban population numbers this past year.
The interactive map produced by the U.S. Census Bureau shows how populations are shifting across the major cities and towns in all 50 U.S. states.
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Several states witnessed a drop in population numbers in their respective top 15 largest cities and towns from July 2022 to July 2023. The urban populations of California, Oregon, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Hawaii, West Virginia and New York all declined in that period. The map can be seen here.
New York saw the most dramatic drop, with a 0.5 percent drop across its most populous areas. New York City saw an overall decline of 0.9 percent, the largest drop in the state. Neighboring Pennsylvania saw a comparatively smaller drop of 0.1 percent overall—though Philadelphia's population declined by 1 percent.
On the other end of the spectrum, South Carolina saw the biggest increase in its most densely populated areas, with an overall 1.7 percent jump. The city of Myrtle Beach, a popular resort and holiday destination not far from the border with North Carolina, saw the biggest population increase of 3.3 percent.
Florida and Texas, two of the most populous states in the country, also saw increases in the number of people living in urban centers. The populations of cities like Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa in the Sunshine State all jumped by between 1.3 and 1.5 percent.
In Texas, major hubs like Houston and Dallas saw marginal population gains of 0.5 and 0.4 percent respectively, while central Texas city San Antonio citizenry grew by 1.5 percent. Fort Worth's population grew by 2.2 percent, the largest increase in the state.
According to another map based on overall population data for each entire state, Texas, for example, also had the largest increase nationwide in its citizens between 2022 and 2023—expanding by over 470,000. Comparatively, the states that lost the most residents were New York, which was down around 100,000, and California, which lost 75,000 people.
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"I expect Texas will continue to grow, from just over 30 million today, and maybe reach 45, maybe even 50 million by the year 2050," demography expert Dudley Poston, an emeritus professor of sociology at Texas A&M University, previously told Newsweek.
"Most of the growth or decline in all the states is due to domestic migration, people moving from/to other states. Some states grew, others declined, for many of the same reasons," Poston continued. "Here are the main reasons people move: people move from one state to another for jobs, lower cost of housing, lower state taxes, better levels of living. Here Texas and Florida have all the benefits, and California and New York don't."
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Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her focus is reporting on issues across the U.S., including ... Read more
