Foreign-Born Population Comparison




Given that the 2017 demographic information was released yesterday by the US Census, it’s time to revisit this Columbus foreign-born population comparison and update it with the new data.

First up, let’s take a look at total foreign-born populations. I have looked at this topic some in the past, but I have never done a full-scale comparison for this topic.

Total Foreign-Born Population Rank by City 2000, 2010 and 2017
2000—————————————-2010———————————-2017

1. Chicago, IL: 628,903———–1. Chicago: 557,674—————1. Chicago: 563,688
2. San Jose, CA: 329,750——–2. San Jose: 366,194————-2. San Jose: 417,148
3. San Antonio, TX: 133,675—-3. San Antonio: 192,741———-3. San Antonio: 212,109
4. Austin, TX: 109,006————4. Austin: 148,431——————4. Austin: 177,844
5. Las Vegas, NV: 90,656——-5. Las Vegas: 130,503————-5. Charlotte: 147,074
6. Sacramento, CA: 82,616—–6. Chalotte: 106,047—————6. Las Vegas: 139,790
7. Portland, OR: 68,976———7. Sacramento: 96,105————-7. Sacramento: 111,904
8. Charlotte, NC: 59,849——–8. Columbus: 86,663—————-8. Columbus: 105,826
9. Minneapolis, MN: 55,475—–9. Portland: 83,026—————–9. Indianapolis: 89,465
10. Columbus: 47,713———–10. Indianapolis: 74,407———–10. Portland: 89,050
11. Milwaukee, WI: 46,122—–11. Nashville: 73,327—————11. Nashville: 86,271
12. Detroit, MI: 45,541———–12. Minneapolis: 57,846———–12. Minneapolis: 69,567
13. Providence, RI: 43,947—–13. Milwaukee: 57,222————-13. Orlando: 68,811
14. St. Paul, MN: 41,138——-14. Providence: 52,920————14. St. Paul: 64,056
15. Nashville, TN: 38,936——-15. St. Paul: 50,366—————-15. Milwaukee: 59,443
16. Indianapolis, IN: 36,067—-16. Orlando: 43,747—————-16. Providence: 54,520
17. Virginia Beach, VA: 28,276–17. Virginia Beach: 40,756—–17. Omaha: 51,041
18. Wichita, KS: 27,938———18. Omaha: 39,288—————18. Virginia Beach: 42,319
19. Orlando, FL: 26,741——–19. Wichita: 39,128—————–19. Detroit: 41,374
20. Omaha, NE: 25,687———-20. Kansas City: 35,532———20. Wichita: 40,427
21. Kansas City, MO: 25,632—21. Detroit: 34,307—————-21. Kansas City: 37,833
22. Cleveland: 21,372————22. Madison: 24,929————–22. Madison: 32,066
23. Grand Rapids, MI: 20,814—23. St. Louis: 23,011————23. Des Moines: 29,876
24. St Louis, MO: 19,542——–24. Lincoln: 22,214—————24. Pittsburgh:26,504
25. Pittsburgh, PA: 18,874——-25. Des Moines: 20,798——–25. Grand Rapids: 26,014
26. Madison, WI: 18,792———26. Pittsburgh: 18,698———–26. Lincoln: 25,689
27. Des Moines, IA: 15,713—–27. Cleveland: 17,739————27. St. Louis: 23,659
28. Lincoln, NE: 13,246———-28. Grand Rapids: 16,615——-28. Fort Wayne: 22,186
29. Cincinnati: 12,461————29. Cincinnati: 16,531————29. Cleveland: 21,992
30. Fort Wayne, IN: 10,187—–30. Fort Wayne: 15,286———30. Cincinnati: 19,085
31. Toledo: 9,475——————31. Toledo: 11,159—————31. Akron: 13,423
32. Akron: 6,911——————-32. Akron: 8,524——————-32. Toledo: 11,260
33. Dayton: 3,245—————–33. Dayton: 5,102——————33. Dayton: 6,743
34. Youngstown: 1,605———-34. Youngstown: 3,695———–34. Youngstown: 1,401

Here’s the 2000-2017 total change.
Columbus foreign-born population comparison
And the 2000-2017 change by %.

So Columbus has had above average total and % growth compared to its peers nationally since 2000. What about more recently?

Total change 2010-2017.

And the 2010-2017 change by %.

So now that we know how many foreign-born immigrants are arriving, let’s take a look at where they are coming from.

Total Foreign-Born Residents From Europe in 2000 and 2017
2000———————————————–2017

1. Chicago: 145,462———————1. Chicago: 96,656
2. San Jose: 21,904———————2. San Jose: 25,147
3. Portland: 17,572———————-3. Portland: 16,548
4. Las Vegas: 9,070———————4. Austin: 13,337
5. Cleveland: 8,796———————-5. Charlotte: 9,775
6. St. Louis: 8,543———————–6. Las Vegas: 8,536
7. San Antonio: 8,323——————7. San Antonio: 7,852
8. Sacramento: 8,204——————8. Virginia Beach: 7,368
9. Milwaukee: 7,841——————–9. Columbus: 6,860
10. Charlotte: 7,487——————–10. Indianapolis: 6,344
11. Austin: 7,474————————11. Sacramento: 6,008
12. Pittsburgh: 7,413——————-12. Nashville: 5,778
13. Columbus: 7,017——————-13. Orlando: 5,516
14. Indianapolis: 6,543—————-14. Minneapolis: 5,477
15. Virginia Beach: 6,333————-15. Milwaukee: 4,388
16. Detroit: 5,600————————16. Pittsburgh: 4,265
17. Minneapolis: 5,409—————–17. Providence: 4,022
18. Providence: 5,126——————18. Lincoln: 3,908
19. Nashville: 4,859——————–19. St. Louis: 3,680
20. Cincinnati: 3,851——————-20. Cincinnati: 3,556
21. Grand Rapids: 3,396————–21. Omaha: 3,483
22. Omaha: 3,320———————–22. Cleveland: 3,399
23. St. Paul: 3,255———————-23. Kansas City: 3,362
24. Des Moines: 3,216—————-24. Madison: 2,867
25. Kansas City: 2,985—————-25. St. Paul: 2,394
26. Madison: 2,871——————–26. Detroit: 2,393
27. Lincoln: 2,701———————-27. Fort Wayne: 2,388
28. Akron: 2,687———————–28. Des Moines: 2,156
29. Orlando: 2,509——————–29. Wichita: 1,660
30. Fort Wayne: 2,076—————30. Grand Rapids: 1,517
31. Toledo: 2,020———————31. Akron: 1,286
32. Wichita: 2,004———————32. Toledo: 1,242
33. Dayton: 901———————–33. Dayton: 877
34. Youngstown: 870—————-34. Youngstown: 173

Columbus had a high number of Europeans versus most peers, but almost all cities saw drops in this demographic between 2000 and 2017, some quite drastic. Columbus’ drop was relatively minor.

Total Foreign-born Population from Asia 2000 and 2017
2000————————————————–2017

1. San Jose: 182,712—————————1. San Jose: 262,208
2. Chicago: 112,932—————————-2. Chicago: 140,434
3. Sacramento: 40,253————————-3. Austin: 57,584
4. Portland: 26,271——————————4. Sacramento: 53,731
5. Austin: 25,036——————————–5. Charlotte: 46,698
6. St. Paul: 23,245——————————6. Columbus: 43,706
7. Columbus: 22,354—————————7. San Antonio: 40,642
8. Minneapolis: 17,376————————8. Portland: 38,224
9. Las Vegas: 17,062————————–9. Las Vegas: 35,087
10. San Antonio: 15,840———————-10. St. Paul: 34,678
11. Charlotte: 15,734————————–11. Nashville: 26,155
12. Virginia Beach: 15,176——————-12. Indianapolis: 23,934
13. Detroit: 15,114——————————13. Virginia Beach: 23,625
14. Nashville: 12,573—————————14. Madison: 18,795
15. Milwaukee: 12,114————————-15. Detroit: 18,681
16. Wichita: 10,826—————————–16. Milwaukee: 17,838
17. Madison: 9,736—————————–17. Minneapolis: 15,967
18. Indianapolis: 9,190————————-18. Pittsburgh: 15,873
19. Pittsburgh: 7,938—————————-19. Wichita: 15,466
20. Providence: 7,871————————–20. Omaha: 14,504
21. Kansas City: 7,312————————-21. Lincoln: 13,804
22. Lincoln: 6,691——————————-22. Kansas City: 12,043
23. St. Louis: 6,425—————————–23. Fort Wayne: 10,972
24. Omaha: 6,302——————————-24. Des Moines: 10,691
25. Cleveland: 6,213—————————25. St. Louis: 9,632
26. Des Moines: 5,239————————26. Orlando: 8,122
27. Orlando: 4,530—————————–27. Akron: 7,862
28. Cincinnati: 4,326————————–28. Cleveland: 7,450
29. Toledo: 3,847——————————29. Providence: 6,668
30. Grand Rapids: 3,206———————30. Grand Rapids: 6,585
31. Akron: 3,099——————————-31. Toledo: 6,196
32. Fort Wayne: 2,792————————32. Cincinnati: 6,002
33. Dayton: 903———————————33. Dayton: 1,614
34. Youngstown: 338————————–34. Youngstown: 448

Columbus ranks even higher with its foreign-born Asian population.

Total Foreign-born Population from Africa 2000 and 2017
2000—————————————————2017

1. Minneapolis: 12,765——————–1. Columbus: 33,607
2. Chicago: 12,613————————-2. Chicago: 26,995
3. Columbus: 9,530————————3. Minneapolis: 25,286
4. San Jose: 5,189————————-4. Nashville: 18,387
5. Charlotte: 4,722————————–5. Charlotte: 18,234
6. St. Paul: 4,697—————————-6. Indianapolis: 17,452
7. Nashville: 4,183————————–7. St. Paul: 15,926
8. Detroit: 3,249—————————–8. Omaha: 7,496
9. Providence: 3,138———————–9. San Jose: 7,400
10. Indianapolis: 2,650——————–10. Portland: 7,059
11. Portland: 2,430————————-11. Austin: 6,469
12. Austin: 2,263—————————-12. Des Moines: 6,124
13. Kansas City: 2,192——————–13. San Antonio: 5,718
14. Cincinnati: 1,781———————–14. Kansas City: 5,051
15. St. Louis: 1,500————————-15. St. Louis: 4,977
16. Omaha: 1,497—————————16. Providence: 4,697
17. San Antonio: 1,358——————–17. Milwaukee: 4,423
18. Milwaukee: 1,332———————-18. Cincinnati: 4,207
19. Cleveland: 1,075———————–19. Grand Rapids: 3,754
20. Sacramento: 1,051——————–20. Sacramento: 2,955
21. Des Moines: 1,038——————–21. Pittsburgh: 2,731
22. Madison: 991—————————22. Cleveland: 2,728
23. Orlando: 983—————————23. Orlando: 2,552
24. Wichita: 946—————————-24. Akron: 2,311
25. Las Vegas: 916———————–25. Madison: 2,180
26. Pittsburgh: 905————————26. Wichita: 2,142
27. Virginia Beach: 840——————27. Las Vegas: 1,846
28. Grand Rapids: 718——————-28. Lincoln: 1,680
29. Toledo: 638—————————-29. Dayton: 1,397
30. Lincoln: 637—————————30. Detroit: 1,082
31. Dayton: 522—————————-31. Virginia Beach: 847
32. Fort Wayne: 384———————-32. Fort Wayne: 628
33. Akron: 197—————————–33. Toledo: 615
34. Youngstown: 50———————-34. Youngstown: 0

Columbus has claimed the number 1 spot in its foreign-born African population, passing previous top city Minneapolis.

And finally, the total foreign-born population from the Americas in 2000 and 2017
2000—————————————————-2017

1. Chicago: 357,235————————–1. Chicago: 297,926
2. San Jose: 117,989————————2. San Antonio: 157,629
3. San Antonio: 107,906——————–3. San Jose: 120,657
4. Austin: 73,935——————————4. Austin: 99,482
5. Las Vegas: 63,277————————5. Las Vegas: 93,693
6. Charlotte: 31,625————————–6. Charlotte: 72,211
7. Sacramento: 28,927———————-7. Orlando: 52,421
8. Providence: 27,649———————–8. Sacramento: 42,632
9. Milwaukee: 24,781————————9. Indianapolis: 41,554
10. Detroit: 21,527—————————10. Providence: 39,093
11. Portland: 20,939————————-11. Nashville: 35,719
12. Minneapolis: 19,648——————–12. Milwaukee: 32,630
13. Orlando: 18,639————————-13. Portland: 25,417
14. Indianapolis: 17,530——————–14. Omaha: 25,385
15. Nashville: 17,125————————15. Minneapolis: 22,688
16. Omaha: 14,467————————–16. Columbus: 21,578
17. Wichita: 13,988—————————17. Wichita: 20,983
18. Grand Rapids: 13,477——————18. Detroit: 19,143
19. Kansas City: 12,948———————19. Kansas City: 17,377
20. St. Paul: 9,804—————————-20. Grand Rapids: 14,158
21. Columbus: 8,596————————21. St. Paul: 10,878
22. Des Moines: 6,201———————-22. Des Moines: 10,627
23. Virginia Beach: 5,754——————23. Virginia Beach: 10,415
24. Cleveland: 5,192————————24. Cleveland: 8,386
25. Madison: 5,080————————–25. Fort Wayne: 8,198
26. Fort Wayne: 4,930———————-26. Madison: 8,031
27. Lincoln: 3,106—————————-27. Lincoln: 6,190
28. St. Louis: 2,961————————–28. Cincinnati: 5,320
29. Toledo: 2,942—————————-29. St. Louis: 5,008
30. Pittsburgh: 2,463————————30. Pittsburgh: 3,443
31. Cincinnati: 2,432————————31. Toledo: 3,207
32. Dayton: 919——————————32. Dayton: 2,855
33. Akron: 891——————————-33. Akron: 1,699
34. Youngstown: 333———————–34. Youngstown: 780

Columbus does the worst with this group, but even here it moved up 5 spots in the rankings.

The rest of the foreign-born population is made up of small groups of people from Oceania- or basically island nations.




Suburban vs. Urban Growth in US Metros





Now that we have the full set of 2017 population estimates, I wanted to examine a popular claim a little more closely. The claim is that suburban growth far exceeds that of core cities/counties, and it’s often repeated in media throughout the country. One of the things that always bothered me about this was the constant use of basing this claim largely on % change. This has a major flaw, one that I will go into more below.

For this little study, I will look at the top 50 largest metro areas.

First, let’s look at the total change in the whole metro area, the core county and the core city between the 2010 Census and July 1, 2017. They will be ranked here by total metro change.
1. Dallas, TX: +973,431
2. Houston, TX: +971,941
3. New York, NY: +754,396
4. Atlanta, GA: +597,993
5. Miami, FL: +592,525
6. Washington, DC: +580,228
7. Phoenix, AZ: +544,141
8. Los Angeles, CA: +524,946
9. Seattle, WA: +427,240
10. Austin, TX: +399,507
11. San Francisco, Ca: +391,784
12. Orlando, FL: +375,432
13. Riverside, CA: +355,705
14. Denver, CO: +344,635
15. San Antonio, TX: +331,458
16. Charlotte, NC: +308,313
17. Tampa, FL: +307,930
18. Boston, MA: +283,935
19. Las Vegas, NV: +252,810
20. Minneapolis, MN: +251,760
21. San Diego, CA: +242,343
22. Nashville, TN: +232,162
23. Portland, OR: +227,167
24. Raleigh, NC: +204,590
25. Columbus: +176,724
26. Sacramento, CA: +175,740
27. San Jose, CA: +161,523
28. Jacksonville, FL: +159,382
29. Indianapolis, IN: +140,524
30. Oklahoma City, OK: +130,746
31. Philadelphia, PA: +130,427
32. Kansas City, MO: +119,574
33. Salt Lake City, UT: +115,297
34. Baltimore, MD: +97,572
35. Richmond, VA: +86,117
36. New Orleans, LA: +85,903
37. Chicago: +71,499
38. Cincinnati: +64,396
39. Louisville, KY: +58,247
40. Virginia Beach, VA: +48,429
41. Memphis, TN: +23,433
42. Birmingham, AL: +21,751
43. Milwaukee, WI: +20,282
44. Providence, RI: +19,912
45. St. Louis, MO: +19,575
46. Detroit: +16,685
47. Buffalo, NY: +1,239
48. Hartford, CT: -2,139
49. Cleveland: -18,427
50. Pittsburgh, PA: -22,924

Now that we have the total growth, let’s break it down a bit more.

How much of the total metro change occurred in the core county of each metro? This will be ranked by the highest to lowest % occurring in the core county.

Core County Change—————-Core County % of Total Metro
1. Las Vegas: +252,810———————-100.00%
2. San Diego: +242,343———————-100.00%
3. San Jose: +161,523**———————100.00%
4. Buffalo: +6,488——————————100.00%
5. Salt Lake City: +105,994——————91.93%
6. Phoenix: +489,916————————–90.03%
7. Raleigh: +171,210————————–83.68%
8. San Antonio: +243,805——————–73.56%
9. Columbus: +128,567———————–72.75%
10. Los Angeles: +344,902——————65.70%
11. Sacramento: +111,827——————63.63%
12. Seattle: +257,400————————-60.25%
13. New York: +447,565*——————–59.33%
14. Tampa: +179,340————————-58.24%
15. Houston: +560,521———————–57.67%
16. New Orleans: +49,463——————-57.58%
17. Jacksonville: +88,902——————–55.78%
18. Riverside: +198,100———————-55.69%
19. Providence: +10,870———————54.59%
20. Orlando: +203,019————————54.08%
21. Oklahoma City: +69,325—————-53.02%
22. Louisville: +30,052———————–51.59%
23. Charlotte: +157,209———————50.99%
24. Austin: +202,432————————-50.67%
25. Miami: +255,361————————-43.10%
26. Memphis: +9,317————————39.76%
27. Minneapolis: +99,599——————-39.56%
28. Indianapolis: +46,689——————33.22%
29. Philadelphia: +41,866——————32.10%
30. Portland: +72,221———————–31.79%
31. Denver: +104,463**———————30.31%
32. Nashville: +64,663———————-27.85%
33. Boston: +75,916————————-26.74%
34. Richmond: +22,818**——————26.50%
35. Virginia Beach: +12,441**————25.69%
36. Dallas: +250,009————————25.68%
37. Chicago: +16,588———————–23.20%
38. Milwaukee: +4,350———————21.45%
39. Kansas City: +24,737—————–20.69%
40. Atlanta: +120,843———————-20.21%
41. San Francisco: +79,128**————20.20%
42. Cincinnati: +11,448——————–17.78%
43. Washington, DC: +92,249**———15.90%
44. Birmingham: +731———————-3.36%
45. Hartford: +1,374————————-0.0%
46. Baltimore: -9,313**———————-0.0%
47. St. Louis: -10,668**———————0.0%
48. Detroit: -66,968————————–0.0%
49. Pittsburgh: -300———————– -1.31%
50. Cleveland: -31,608——————- -100.00%

*New York includes all 5 main boroughs, so it is different than core county, but still represents the urban center of the metro area.
**Core County and City are consolidated, or city exists as separate entity.

Going down even further, let’s compare the core city to the total metro, again ranked by %.

Core City Change————————Core City % of Total Metro
1. New York: +447,565————————-59.33%
2. New Orleans: +49,463———————–57.58%
3. San Antonio: +184,539———————-55.67%
4. San Jose: +89,375—————————55.33%
5. Columbus: +92,137————————–52.14%
6. Oklahoma City: +63,649——————–48.68%
7. San Diego: +112,114————————46.26%
8. Jacksonville: +70,278———————–44.09%
9. Philadelphia: +54,857———————–42.06%
10. Charlotte: +127,611————————41.39%
11. Louisville: +24,012————————-41.22%
12. Austin: +160,325—————————40.13%
13. Los Angeles: +207,138——————-39.46%
14. Las Vegas: +64,468———————–36.68%
15. Phoenix: +180,446————————-33.16%
16. Raleigh: +65,098—————————31.82%
17. Denver: +104,463————————–30.31%
18. Indianapolis: +42,557———————30.28%
19. Chicago: +20,852————————–29.16%
20. Portland: +64,029————————–28.19%
21. Nashville: +64,562————————-27.81%
22. Seattle: +116,085————————–27.17%
23. Richmond: +22,818**———————26.50%
24. Virginia Beach: +12,441**—————25.69%
25. Kansas City: +29,156———————24.38%
26. Boston: +67,500—————————23.77%
27. Memphis: +5,347————————–22.82%
28. Houston: +212,454————————21.86%
29. San Francisco**: +79,128—————20.20%
30. Sacramento: +35,413———————20.15%
31. Minneapolis: +41,412———————16.45%
32. Tampa: +49,721—————————-16.15%
33. Washington, DC: +92,249**————-15.90%
34. Dallas: +143,259—————————14.72%
35. Salt Lake City: +14,104——————-12.23%
36. Providence: +2,351————————11.81%
37. Orlando: +41,957—————————11.18%
38. Atlanta: +66,287—————————-11.08%
39. Miami: +54,122——————————9.13%
40. Cincinnati: +4,356————————–6.76%
41. Riverside: +23,857————————-6.71%
42. Milwaukee: +518—————————2.55%
43. Birmingham: -1,527———————–0.0%
44. Buffalo: -5,218——————————0.0%
45. Baltimore: -9,313**————————0.0%
46. St. Louis: -10,668**———————–0.0%
47. Detroit: -40,673—————————-0.0%
48. Pittsburgh: -3,297———————– -14.38%
49. Cleveland: -10,889——————— -59.09%
50. Hartford: -1,375————————- -64.28%

*Again, I used the 5 boroughs of New York here, so the numbers don’t change.
**See above.

Finally, because core counties and cities can be absolutely huge, like in Phoenix, I wanted to take see the ratio of people moving vs. the area size. To do this, I divided the growth by the land area of each core county and city.

So basically, how many people moved there per each square mile.

Core County Ratio——————————-Core City Ratio
1. San Francisco: 1,687.52————————-1,687.52
2. Washington, DC: 1,511.04———————-1,511.04
3. New York: 1,475.51——————————-1,475.51
4. Boston: 1,308.90———————————–1,394.05
5. Denver: 681.30————————————–681.30
6. Richmond: 379.67———————————-379.67
7. Houston: 329.14————————————354.33
8. Philadelphia: 312.43——————————-408.83
9. Charlotte: 300.02———————————–428.66
10. New Orleans: 291.95—————————-291.95
11. Dallas: 286.38————————————-420.73
12. Columbus: 241.67——————————-424.26
13. Atlanta: 229.30———————————–497.65
14. Orlando: 224.83———————————-398.75
15. Raleigh: 205.04———————————-455.87
16. Austin: 204.48————————————538.18
17. San Antonio: 196.62—————————-400.36
18. Minneapolis: 179.78—————————–754.32
19. Tampa: 175.82————————————438.38
20. Portland: 167.57———————————-481.42
21. Salt Lake City: 142.85—————————129.28
22. Miami: 134.54————————————-1,503.81
23. Nashville: 128.30———————————128.01
24. San Jose: 125.21———————————503.49
25. Seattle: 121.64————————————1,384.11
26. Indianapolis: 117.81——————————117.72
27. Jacksonville: 116.67——————————94.02
28. Sacramento: 115.88——————————361.65
29. Oklahoma City: 97.78—————————-105.89
30. Los Angeles: 84.99——————————-441.90
31. Louisville: 79.08———————————–63.11
32. San Diego: 57.84———————————344.76
33. Phoenix: 53.25————————————348.59
34. Virginia Beach: 49.96—————————-49.96
35. Kansas City: 40.96——————————-92.57
36. Las Vegas: 32.04———————————474.73
37. Cincinnati: 28.20———————————-55.89
38. Riverside: 27.49———————————–293.70
39. Providence: 26.51——————————–127.08
40. Milwaukee: 18.05———————————5.39
41. Chicago: 17.5————————————–91.72
42. Memphis: 12.21———————————–16.97
43. Buffalo: 6.22————————————– -128.52
44. Harford: 1.87————————————- -79.02
45. Birmingham: 0.66——————————- -10.46
46. Pittsburgh: -0.41——————————— -59.53
47. Cleveland: -69.16——————————- -140.14
48. Detroit: -109.42———————————- -293.14
49. Baltimore: -115.12—————————— -115.12
50. St. Louis: -172.34——————————- -172.34

So what’s all this mean? Columbus performs particularly well here. Franklin County attracts a high percentage of the total metro population, and Columbus itself is one of only 5 cities with more than 50% of the metro growth entering the city limits. Even accounting for area size, Columbus does fairly well. This suggests that urban growth there is stronger than in most cities.