r/dataisbeautiful • u/TA-MajestyPalm • 4d ago

OC [OC] Post-Pandemic Population Growth Trends, by US Metro Area (2022->2024)

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Graphic by me, created in Excel. All data from US Census here: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

I've created similar graphics in the past, but usually from 2020-2024. This is not the best time frame as it combines the abnormal covid years with post pandemic movement.

This time frame (2022-2024) shows the most current and ongoing population trends of the last 2 years.

I also wanted to better categorize the cities into broad cultural regions vs the arbitrary geographic census regions.

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64

u/TA-MajestyPalm 4d ago

Required comment:

Graphic by me, created in Excel.

All data from US Census here: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

I've created similar graphics in the past, but usually from 2020-2024. This is not the best time frame as it combines the abnormal covid years with post-pandemic movement.

This time frame (2022-2024) shows the most current and ongoing population trends of the last 2 years.

I also wanted to better categorize the cities into broad cultural regions vs the arbitrary geographic census regions.

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u/TheLighthammer 3d ago

Wondering how much of the gain in the south and southwest is related to retiring Boomers chasing the sun.

It’s fascinating to see people moving to places that climate change will make utterly miserable. We’re going to see a lot of migration away from those same areas in the not too distant future.

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u/TA-MajestyPalm 3d ago

I found this article which has a nice map. Seems to show younger people moving in similarly heavy amounts

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u/Dragoeth1 3d ago

All of the most popular counties (except the montana ones which have basically noone there at all anyways) are under an hour drive from a major metro area. Pretty much young people trading housing costs for commute time.

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u/AbueloOdin 3d ago

I can definitely attest that the "growth" in Dallas is actually just growth in an open field 50 miles north of Dallas. It'd be like saying there is growth in north Baltimore but it counts for DC.

Also, I do not blame people for getting the fuck out of Pittsburgh. Lovely city. Lovely area. Honestly, super cool. But no EPA means those rivers go back to basically hot orange juice and you get secondhand lung cancer from the factories.

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u/rowzayduckbucky 3d ago

Pittsburgh seems like it’s getting better, but the climate is still awful. Some of the coldest and cloudiest winters in the country

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u/Content_Preference_3 2d ago

No. Pitt winters might be cloudy but far from the coldest

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u/varzaguy 1d ago

Pittsburgh winters are mild, I’m happy I even get snow.

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u/EstablishmentFull797 3d ago

Retirees going to the south/sunbelt are on a one way migration. By the time those regions reach the utterly miserable phase of climate change, they’ll be dead. 

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u/Yellowbug2001 3d ago

Curious about whether it's people moving between regions, or people *within* regions moving to the cities. I can think of a lot of reasons why a lot of people in the rural south would be finding their closest city more appealing than bumblefuck in the last few years. But I don't know.

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u/babygotthefever 3d ago

This is a lot of what’s happening in GA. I live in Savannah and have seen tons of people moving from here to the bigger ATL but also plenty moving from bumfuck to SAV or ATL. Most of the time, this is younger working folks because the opportunities don’t exist for them at home.

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u/dalivo 3d ago

It's both. In the South, it's people moving from more expensive northern states (and sometimes the Pacific West) as well as people moving from rural or smaller cities. Often the latter are tradespeople chasing the bigger markets (but they might live in more exurban counties or towns, as it's sort of "rural plus" or as I like to call it, subural).

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u/j00dypoo 3d ago

I think the world you're looking for is exurb.

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u/300Savage 3d ago

I have relatives who have bought condos near Fort Myers Florida who have been hit by hurricanes for three years running now.

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u/RoboTronPrime 3d ago

They don't necessarily believe in climate change and if they do, they figure they're not necessarily going to be around long term to worry about it. 

To that effect: "a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit"

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u/tu-vens-tu-vens 3d ago

People’s revealed preferences over the past 50 years or so have shown preference for warmer weather.

Coastal places like Miami face real challenges. But Raleigh, Nashville, Atlanta, and Austin getting a few degrees hotter isn’t going to dissuade anyone from moving there – not when far hotter places like Phoenix keep on growing and people have been living in far hotter places (Mesopotamia, Egypt) since literally the dawn of civilization.

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u/Composed_Cicada2428 1d ago

Boomers retiring in the south is only a portion of it. It’s primarily because of post-pandemic soaring housing costs everywhere and the south being the cheapest housing. People need a roof over their heads

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u/rowzayduckbucky 3d ago

It will be several decades before the South truly becomes unlivable. I don’t blame them for seeking the sun now

The Great Lakes region is very cold from November-April, unless you love snow I really don’t recommend it

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u/Individual_Macaron69 3d ago

but only like one decade before florida at least becomes totally uninsurable

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u/Snoo23533 3d ago

And trump was president during the 2020 census and its widely known he made several attempts to influence the count.

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u/Weaubleau 3d ago

Don't hold your breath