Big drops in a city’s population can seriously affect local businesses, the housing market, and even the city’s economy.
A new 2023 study by SmartAsset shows which U.S. cities saw the biggest population declines between 2017 and 2022.
Can you guess which Nevada city lost the most people?
How the Study Was Done
SmartAsset looked at 344 U.S. cities with at least 100,000 people.
They studied population changes caused by births, deaths, and people moving away.
Now, let’s see which cities saw the biggest losses.
1. Paradise, Nevada
Paradise, right next to Las Vegas, wasn’t so much of a “paradise” after all.
It lost around 22% of its population in just five years.
By 2022, Paradise had only 183,321 residents left.
2. Jackson, Mississippi
Mississippi’s largest city also saw a huge drop.
Jackson’s population fell from 167,250 in 2017 to 146,019 in 2022 — about a 12.7% decrease.
3. East Los Angeles, California
Even with LA’s Hollywood dreams nearby, East LA saw its population shrink by 10%.
It lost around 12,577 people between 2017 and 2022.
4. Aurora, Illinois
This suburb of Chicago lost almost 10% of its residents too.
Aurora had 202,548 people in 2017 but dropped to 182,336 in 2022.
5. El Monte, California
Located in Los Angeles County, El Monte said goodbye to about 9.3% of its population.
By 2022, only 105,307 residents remained.
6. San Francisco, California
It’s surprising to see San Francisco on this list, but the city lost 8.6% of its people.
In 2017, there were 884,363 residents. In 2022, that number dropped to 808,437.
7. Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah, located in Miami-Dade County, saw an 8.1% drop in population.
It fell from 239,682 residents in 2017 to 220,274 in 2022.
8. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit’s long-term population decline continued.
The city went from 673,103 residents in 2017 to 620,410 in 2022 — a 7.8% decrease.
9. Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana also faced a big population dip, falling by 7.8%.
It had 334,135 residents in 2017 but dropped to 308,203 by 2022.
A shrinking population can create big challenges for any city — from fewer customers for businesses to less tax money for schools and roads.
While cities like Paradise, Jackson, and Detroit are seeing people leave, others are growing fast in other parts of the country.
If you’re thinking about moving, it’s important to understand these trends and how they might affect your future home.
