Population Shift

New census data shows the St. Louis metropolitan region lost around 19,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. St. Louis and St. Louis County led the declines while suburban and exurban counties, like St. Charles, Lincoln and Jefferson, posted gains as they have in the past.

An annual report by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the St. Louis metropolitan region saw a population drop of about half of one percent last year. Much of the estimated decrease came from the City of St. Louis.

Demographers say after years of a declining birth rate, the student population declines aren’t a surprise. Still, they have a big impact on the operations of schools.

The 14-county region hovered around 2.8 million people only shedding about 10,000 between 2020 and 2021, but the changes weren’t evenly distributed.

The Asian community grew 37% in the past decade, and the region’s universities play a key role as an attraction. But there are many other things that make the area desirable.

More than 27,000 Black residents left St. Louis over the past decade for other counties or states. Many left for better jobs, schools and safety.

“Caracas is a place I was born and raised, and it is my first home. St. Louis is my second one. The Arch now has become a symbol for home to me,” said one Latina resident who moved to St. Louis in the past decade.

Mientras algunos grupos en St. Louis están disminuyendo en población según el último censo, la comunidad latina está creciendo exponencialmente. “El Arch ahora se ha convertido en un símbolo de hogar para mí,” dijo una residente latina que se mudó a St. Louis en la última década.

More people are dying than being born in Missouri — what experts refer to as a “demographic winter.” St. Louis University professor Ness Sandoval explains where we are and what it will take to reverse course.

Asian, Hispanic and multiracial populations are growing throughout the St. Louis area.