Today, the Census released new population figures for cities and incorporated places. I looked at all those places within the Columbus metro area and came up with the following stats on 2013 city population estimates.
So by the trends, it definitely appears that most suburbs have slowed, while Columbus and its inner suburbs increased. This seems like a pretty good indication of the ongoing urban movement to me.
In a related post to the recent metro population comparison of Columbus to its peer 1.5-2.5 million group, I wanted to see where the metros stood as far as their current racial makeup as well as where they are trending. So here are the current Columbus metro diversity trends, along with 17 other peer metros, according to the US Census.
First, let’s take a look at the breakdown of race by metro in 2012, the last year that data is available.
Columbus had the 5th highest % of its metro population as White, non-Hispanic. Columbus came in at #8 for the % of its metro population being Black, non Hispanic. Columbus ranks 9th for its % of metro population that is Asian, non-Hispanic. Columbus ranked poorly in this group, coming in at 15th of 18. Finally, Columbus ranked 7th in the population of Other, non-Hispanic as a % of the total metro population.
So currently, what is the overall diversity ranking of the 18 metros? To find out, I used a simple formula: Each metro would be assigned points (1-18) based on the ranking position in each racial group. Here are the final rankings. Overall, Columbus comes in as the 8th most-diverse metro in its 18-peer group. So a bit better than average and perhaps a bit surprising to some.
But what about where this diversity is trending? To find out, I looked at 2005 and 2012 and calculated how each racial group had changed over the period. Columbus did relatively well with Non-Hispanic Whites, growing at the 5th best pace. The Columbus metro came in the top 10, at #7, for Non-Hispanic Black population growth. The metro didn’t fare as well on growth in the Asian population, coming in at 10th. Columbus came in at #6 for this group. So using the same point system from above, what were the fastest diversifying metros as of 2012?
The Columbus metro was the 5th fastest diversifying metro in its peer group in 2012.
Overall, Columbus ranks higher than and much higher than average in both current racial diversity and the rate of racial diversity growth, respectively. The Columbus vs. Other Cities page examines many types of similar population and demographic comparisons.
The recent Census release of updated population numbers gives new figures on metro populations. In previous articles, I talked mostly about density, so this time, the data is being expanded a bit for a full 2013 metro area comparison.
Metro Area Population on July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013 By Rank 2012————————————–—-2013 1. Pittsburgh: 2,360,989— 1. Pittsburgh: 2,360,867 2. Charlotte: 2,294,990—2. Charlotte: 2,335,358 3. Portland, OR: 2,289,038—3. Portland, OR: 2,314,554 4. San Antonio, TX: 2,234,494—4. San Antonio, TX: 2,277,550 5. Orlando: 2,223,456—5. Orlando: 2,267,846 6. Sacramento, CA: 2,193,927—6. Sacramento, CA: 2,215,770 7. Cincinnati: 2,129,309—7. Cincinnati: 2,137,406 8. Cleveland: 2,064,739—8. Cleveland: 2,064,725 9. Kansas City: 2,038,690—9. Kansas City: 2,054,473 10. Las Vegas: 1,997,659—10. Las Vegas: 2,027,868 11. Columbus: 1,944,937—11. Columbus: 1,967,066 12. Indianapolis: 1,929,207—12. Indianapolis: 1,953,961 13. San Jose, CA: 1,892,894—13. San Jose, CA: 1,919,641 14. Austin, TX: 1,835,110— 14. Austin, TX: 1,883,051 15. Nashville: 1,726,759—15. Nashville: 1,757,912 16. Virginia Beach, VA: 1,698,410—16. Virginia Beach, VA: 1,707,369 17. Providence, RI: 1,601,160—17. Providence, RI: 1,604,291 18. Milwaukee: 1,566,182—18. Milwaukee: 1,569,659
Total Metro Population Change, 2012-2013, By Rank 1. Austin: +47,941 2. Orlando: +44,390 3. San Antonio: +43,056 4. Charlotte: +40,368 5. Nashville: +31,153 6. Las Vegas: +30,209 7. San Jose: +26,747 8. Portland: +25,516 9. Indianapolis: +24,754 10. Columbus: +22,129 11. Sacramento: +21,843 12. Kansas City: +15,783 13. Virginia Beach: +8,959 14. Cincinnati: +8,097 15. Milwaukee: +3,477 16. Providence: +3,131 17. Cleveland: -14 18. Pittsburgh: -122
**Some of the changes in rates are due to boundary changes. For example, part of the growth rate for Columbus 2000-2010 was a retroactive population addition when boundaries were changed in 2013. The actual growth rate changed very little.
Back in November, I wrote about Ohio’s improving growth outlook. In that post, I examined domestic out-migration and domestic in-migration 2005-2012, and discovered that the net change had been improving. The state was losing fewer people over time domestically, and the difference had declined to under 2,000 people by 2012, a HUGE improvement from the start of the period.
Recently, the US Census released 2013 state population estimates, along with components of population change for the July 1st, 2012-July 1st, 2013 period. More positive news was to be found in those estimates.
First, Ohio’s population increased to 11,570,808, representing an annual increase of 17,777. While the increase is not particularly great, especially in comparison to states nationally, there are some positive nuggets with that number. The state held on to its position as the 7th most populous state, and the increase was the highest since pre-recession. The state moved up 18 spots in the total annual growth rankings 2012-2013 vs. 2011-2012. This was the best increase of all 50 states. It was also the best growth for the state since 2007. Did the state bottom out in 2012? Perhaps, but way too early to tell. Still, a very good improvement that halted a general decline.
The components of change are also interesting.
The migration patterns show a few things. First, 2013 had the 2nd highest rate since 2000 of in-international migration. It was also one of the best years (since 1996) for domestic in-migration.
The question is, can Ohio keep improving or is this just a temporary blip? Time will tell.
