Population Losers (2024)

FAQs

What is the fastest declining city in America? ›

Philadelphia City, Pennsylvania

The fastest declining large city in the US, Philadelphia is also the sixth largest city in the US in terms of population as of 2023, Philadelphia's population sat at 1.5 million in 2023. Between 2020 and 2023, the population has dropped by 3.13%.

Fundamentally, a reduced global population translates to lower demand for resources such as water, wood, and energy, ultimately alleviating pressures on ecosystems. When considering this, one could argue that global population decline is a positive trend.

CHALLENGING CULTURAL NORMS. Challenging cultural norms about what it means to be a parent may also offer solutions for young families. A more equal sharing between women and men of income-earning, household, and childcare responsibilities could encourage more young people to start families.

According to the most authoritative population projections, calculated every few years by the United Nations Population Division, we will likely pass the 9 billion milestone in 2037, and peak around 10.4 billion in the 2080s. The UN does not foresee any significant population decline for the remainder of the century.

In 2024, the United States continues to face significant demographic challenges. Propelled by falling birth rates, the U.S. population is rapidly aging and steadily declining. In turn, the country is experiencing economic and social pressures caused by labor shortages.

In fact, before long, we will have to start worrying about underpopulation, caused by rapidly falling birth rates. It turns out that this is bad news not only for humanity but also for the planet, because more humans means more available resources and less destructive impact on nature.

Japan's population is rapidly aging due to a low birth rate and changing lifestyles, with the country's population anticipated to fall to 63 million by 2100. In response to this issue, the Japanese government has introduced measures such as increases to the child allowance and financial aid for young couples.

Why are people leaving rural areas? ›

People are leaving rural America for a variety of reasons: education, work, business opportunities, family. This is not only a population loss, but also a real loss of people, deeply felt by the communities in which they had lived much of their lives.

On October 18, 2023, the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (2023) broadcast a Yes-or-No debate on the statement: “The population of humans that can be supported sustainably on the planet at a reasonable standard of living is below 4 billion.” Here is an abridged version of Joel E.

In fact, the fastest-growing states were South Carolina and Florida, with growth of 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively. More states saw population growth in 2023 than there have been since the pandemic's beginning. At the state level, there was a population rise in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Wyoming is ranked the lowest in the population, with only 576,851 residents.

State highlights

Eight states continued to lose residents in 2023—New York (-0.52), Louisiana (-0.31%), Hawaii (-0.3%), Illinois (-0.26%), West Virginia (-0.22%), California (-0.19%), Oregon (-0.14%), and Pennsylvania (-0.08%)—and all did so at a slower pace than in the previous year.

The story of New York, the country's fastest shrinking state as of the latest Census release, is similar in this regard. New York lost 0.5% of its population between July 2022 and June 2023 and the previous Census had recorded a decreasing population in the state since 2016.

In the Cook Islands in 2023, the population decreased by about 2.31 percent compared to the previous year, making it the country with the highest population decline rate in 2023.

The answer is the municipality with the city form of government with the smallest population in the US is: Freeport,Kansas with a population of 5 according to the US Census Bureau. Monowi, Nebraska is the smallest incorporated community, but it uses the village form of government.

When it comes to slow-growing cities (the right side of the chart), Detroit, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Memphis have lost population; Chicago has barely held constant. Southern and Western cities round out this group: Long Beach, California, Albuquerque, Virginia Beach, Wichita, and El Paso.