Census: MO population up 7%, St Louis population down 8%

Data for Missouri from the 2010 Census has been released. Missouri as a whole is up 7% in population since 200, close to the national average of 9.7%.  St. Louis City is down 8.3% while St. Louis County is down 2%. 

The downtrend in St. Louis was the subject of an extensive post on Streetsblog.net entitled Sprawl Wallops St. Louis With Eight Percent Population Loss:

The Gateway City had already lost a greater share of its population than any other major US city. The latest count brings it down to a total 319,294 from a height of 856,796 residents in 1950.

News of the loss was especially disappointing as the Census’s biannual population estimates had shown a slight uptick in city population, leading many to believe St. Louis had turned a corner. Alex Ihnen at Next STL shared the frustration of local urbanists and characterized the news as an indictment of local policies:

It had become conventional wisdom that the City had hit bottom, that the population was now increasing for the first time since 1950. The 2009 American Community Survey, a yearly estimate produced by the U.S. Census Bureau had estimated the population had grown 356,587 residents.

Who is the city losing and why? Where can new ideas come from? When will the “old guard” who have overseen this exodus stop cutting ribbons and turning dirt with a smile and silver shovel and simply get out of the way? The City of St. Louis is subject to national and international trends that challenge every historic American city, but what we have done has failed. Failed.

Population loss in the central city is only half the story, however. St. Louis’s suburbs are seeing a different trend.

The St. Louis metro area as a whole was up 4% in population, with St. Charles County (up 27%) and Jefferson County (up 10%) leading the way.

Across the state, Kansas City, MO, grew by 4.1%, but just as in the St. Louis area, several of the suburban areas had much higher growth.  

Statewide, the Branson area continues to show strong growth and cities like Springfield, Columbia, Farmington, and St. Joseph show moderate growth, while rural counties in northern Missouri and the bootheel showed significant losses.

Join MoBikeFed's Advocacy Network

MoBikeFed is a statewide group of people like you, working together for better bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri. When you join our advocacy network you receive occasional important advocacy alerts and bicycle, pedestrian, and trails news from around Missouri.

Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network:

Want better bicycling and walking in Missouri?
We rely on the support of members like you.  Please join, renew, or donate today.