Population Boom in America’s Big Cities
by Mark Mather, associate vice president, Domestic Programs
The population in America’s largest cities is booming, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Just a few years ago, the annual growth rate in the 10 largest cities was around 0.5 percent per year, around half the national average. But the latest figures, from 2008, indicate that the population in America’s 10 largest cities is growing faster than the population living outside of those areas. 
(click on figure to view a larger version)
So what’s driving the change? There are a couple of factors at work. First, big cities are still important destinations for immigrants, who tend to be younger (of reproductive age) and create a lot of population momentum. Second, given the rising unemployment rate and drop in home prices around the country, fewer people are making long distance moves to places like Florida, or even local moves to the suburbs. Chicago, once a perennial population loser, is now growing faster than several former boom towns, including Jacksonville, Las Vegas, and even Cape Coral, Florida, which, a few years ago, was one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
The question for Chicagoans: How long can it last? When the economy bounces back, will people start leaving Chicago en masse? Population trends are closely linked to job trends so future population growth in big cities such as Chicago depends, in part, on their ability to keep people employed.
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July 7th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Mark,
Do you think that commute costs are bringing people closer to where they work?
I know that I have saved a ton of money by moving within biking distance to my office, and to many of the locations that I frequent in my weekly routine.