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

[u/TA-MajestyPalm]

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.

[u/Rarewear_fan]

Interesting stats that are often divorced by what many Reddit users claim. Go on any board related to moving or where specifically Americans talk about their lives, and many are saying cities like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland are popping off, tons of people moving there, great places to live now, etc.

Now they have definitely gotten better in the last 10 years so there is truth, but the midwest and Northeast are not really growing anymore. In the South east it has popped off so much that house prices and property tax rates have exploded since COVID. They are stabilizing now, but the main driver for people moving (economic opportunity) has really gone up in the south along with the wealth it brought compared to even the 2000s.

[u/hiplikebrando → u/Rarewear_fan]

A nuance of Chicago (and probably a lot of Midwest metros) is that migration is area / neighborhood specific in these metros. In Chicago, lower income neighborhoods are emptying rapidly and “good” neighborhoods have strong growth. So they net out looking at a city level and can even show a net loss in population.

So it’s really a problem of people on Reddit complaining about too many people / lack of available housing, but only trying to pile into the same handful of areas rather than branch out.

For example: Englewood (a low income area) versus Lakeview or Lincoln Park which are two highly desirable areas.

[u/Rarewear_fan → u/hiplikebrando]

I agree with this. My wife and I are from the south and our area has boomed in the last 15 years, making our housing costs more expensive in basically any area of our metro. Even in the spreading out areas that are growing.

If we had great job opportunities in Chicago, we could easily afford housing up there by now, but I would also only be looking at a few areas, otherwise I wouldn't really want to live there.

It really shows that as incomes are rising, more people are taking action to build up/integrate into better neighborhoods, or just migrating out to somewhere more in demand.