10 U.S. Cities With the Biggest Population Declines
While overall population growth in the U.S. has slowed over the past few years, ten cities have seen rapid decreases in population over the last several decades due to suburbanization, and the decline of manufacturing industries in the area.
Ohio had the most cities on the list, Dayton, Youngstown, and Cleveland. These Ohio cities' populations have declined between 46.1 (Dayton) and 60.6 percent (Youngstown). Business Insider reports that St. Louis, Missouri's population declined the most -- 62.7 percent from its peak in 1950. According to Census data, St. Louis' population in 1950 was 856,796. In 2010, the population was down to 319,294.
In 2011, the Dayton Business Journal cited the relocation of Mead Paper factory and the closing of General Motors as a contributing factor to the city's decline in population. However, the numbers from recent population estimates show that things might be looking up for Dayton, with a mere 0.1 percent change in population between 2015 and 2016.
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