Columbus sees biggest population growth since before COVID. How much did it gain?

The Columbus area gained more than 18,000 residents in the year ending last July, the biggest gain since before the COVID pandemic, according to the latest Census estimates.

But despite some population stability in the Midwest, most Ohio metro areas continue to shed residents, led by the Cleveland area, which has now lost more than 25,000 people in the past three years.

Census: Columbus among just six of top 15 cities to gain population in COVID's first year

The 10-county Columbus metropolitan area grew by 18,205 residents to 2,180,271 as of July 1 of last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday morning. It was the biggest jump since 2019 to 2020, although the Census cautions against using earlier data because of a change in methodology.

How did Columbus compare with other Ohio cities?

Central Ohio led the state in population growth, while most Ohio metro areas continued their population exodus.

Behind the Columbus area's 18,205 new residents was Cincinnati, with 12,854 new residents; Dayton, with 1,649 residents; Akron, with 887 new residents; and Canton, which welcomed 3 more residents over the year.

Ohio's eight other metro areas continued to shed population: Lima down 259 residents; Mansfield (197); Sandusky (644); Springfield (122); Steubenville (677); Toledo (378); Youngstown (679) and Greater Cleveland (1,769), capping a three-year population decline of 25,183.

Since 2020, the Cleveland, Lima and Sandusky areas have lost more than 1% of their residents while the Steubenville/Weirton, West Virginia area population has declined 2.7%.

Is Columbus a boom town?

While Columbus saw a healthy population bump over the year, Thursday's data should put to rest, at least for now, any talk of central Ohio being one of the nation's fastest-growing areas. From July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023, the Columbus area added 38,376 residents, a 1.79% increase. While that leads Ohio and is above the national average of 1.02%, it's nowhere near the top of U.S. metro areas.

More: Columbus home construction drops to five-year low despite housing shortage

During the same time period, Columbus' 1.79% population growth was dwarfed by Austin, Texas, whose population grew by 7.5%; Boise, Idaho (7.1%); Charlotte, North Carolina (5.1%); Fort Myers, Florida (9%); Jacksonville, Florida (6.2%); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (12.4%); Naples, Florida (7.2%); Provo, Utah (8.4%); Raleigh, North Carolina (6.5%); Sarasota, Florida (8.6%); and a host of smaller metro areas, most of them in the South and West.

Central Ohio's population growth so far this decade also trailed several Midwestern cities including Indianapolis (2.2%); Des Moines, Iowa (3.65%); Fort Wayne, Indiana (2.1%); and Springfield, Missouri (3.1%).

What Ohio counties saw the biggest jumps?

Delaware County again led the state last year in population growth, with 5,110 new residents, followed by Franklin (4,333), and Butler (3,315) counties.

Measured by percentage growth, however, Union County paced Ohio with 4.1% growth. Five of the top six counties to lead Ohio in percentage gain, in fact, are in central Ohio: Union, Madison, Delaware, Pickaway and Fairfield.

Despite all the recent focus on Licking County growth, so far at least, the business growth hasn't translated into a population boom. Licking County saw growth, but isn't leading the state, or even central Ohio, in new residents.

What exactly is the 'Columbus Metropolitan Area'?

The Census bureau defines metro Columbus as a 10-county region consisting of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway, Perry and Union.

What about the rest of the country?

The nation's three largest metro areas — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — were also the three biggest population losers last year. Los Angeles lost 71,037 residents, New York shed 65,549 and Chicago lost 16,602.

Not surprisingly, Sunbelt retirement communities led the nation in population growth last year, led by the literal retirement community of The Villages in Florida, whose population rose 4.7% over the year. Other areas to see at least a 3% population jump were Lakeland, Florida (3.8%), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (3.7%), Ocala, Florida (3.4%) and Port St. Lucie, Florida (3.1%).

The Census Bureau noted in its report that while the South continued to see the nation's biggest gains, this was the first time since 2020 that more counties in the Midwest experienced gains (542) than losses (513).

“Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, said in a news release.

“Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth. Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out west, such as in Arizona and Idaho.”

What do the population numbers mean for Columbus?

While last year's rise in population helps, the Columbus region's inability to attract more residents in recent years could take a toll on its economy, cautioned economist Bill LaFayette, owner of the central Ohio economics firm Regionomics. In his annual state-of-the-economy forecast in January, LaFayette warned that the region's weak job growth in recent years could be due to its slow population growth.

"We are using up all our workers," LaFayette said.

"We can hope that the slowdown in population growth is a temporary impact of the pandemic," he said. "But our region’s shift from a big net importer of population from domestic origins to a net exporter to domestic destinations is really troubling."

Area builders this week released a report showing that a lack of housing availability is hurting the region's ability to grow.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus area leads Ohio in population growth