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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u/TA-MajestyPalm 4d ago

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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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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/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.