Many cities around America have seen a population boom over the last several years as people look to find a new place to call home. However, the new residents moving in had to come from somewhere, leading to other cities and metropolitan areas to report a decrease in population.
According to a list compiled by 24/7 Wall St., one city in Missouri was named among the "fastest shrinking big cities" in the entire country. At No. 14, St. Joseph, which has a metro area in Missouri and Kansas, has seen a population decline of 5.88% in a five-year period, from 127,092 in 2017 to 119,619 in 2022. Additional statistics for St. Joseph include an unemployment rate of 2.4% and a median home value of $165,600.
These are the 10 fastest-shrinking metro areas in the U.S.:
- Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan
- Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
- Fort Smith, Arkansas/Oklahoma
- Grand Island, Nebraska
- Sioux City, Iowa/Nebraska/South Dakota
- Chico, California
- Panama City, Florida
- Bloomington, Illinois
- Blacksburg-Christianburg, Virginia
- Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Here's how the site determined its rankings:
"To determine the fastest shrinking large cities, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey 1-year estimates. We listed all 43 metropolitan statistical areas with at least a 3% population decline from 2027 to 2022 in order of smallest to largest decline. Supplemental data on employment in December 2017 and December 2022 as well as unemployment rates came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are seasonally-adjusted figures. Home value data came from the ACS."
Check out the full report at 24/7 Wall St. to see more of the fastest-shrinking big cities in the country.