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Many cities around America have seen a population boom over the last several years as people look to find a new place to call home. However, the new residents moving in had to come from somewhere, leading to other cities and metropolitan areas to report a decrease in population.
According to a list compiled by 24/7 Wall St., two metropolitan areas in Ohio were named among the "fastest shrinking big cities" in the entire country. At No. 23, Weirton-Steubenville, which includes parts of Ohio and West Virginia, has seen a population decline of 4.68% from 2017 to 2022, while Wheeling, also covering areas of Ohio and West Virginia, had a 3.22% decline during that same five-year time span.
These are the 10 fastest-shrinking metro areas in the U.S.:
- Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan
- Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
- Fort Smith, Arkansas/Oklahoma
- Grand Island, Nebraska
- Sioux City, Iowa/Nebraska/South Dakota
- Chico, California
- Panama City, Florida
- Bloomington, Illinois
- Blacksburg-Christianburg, Virginia
- Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Here's how the site determined its rankings:
"To determine the fastest shrinking large cities, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. We listed all 43 metropolitan statistical areas with at least a 3% population decline from 2027 to 2022 in order of smallest to largest decline. Supplemental data on employment in December 2017 and December 2022 as well as unemployment rates came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are seasonally-adjusted figures. Home value data came from the ACS."
Check out the full report at 24/7 Wall St. to see more of the fastest-shrinking big cities in the country.