Region losing residents at alarming rate

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — The population in the Youngstown area is among the fastest declining for metropolitan areas in the country.

According to Census Bureau estimates to be released today, the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area lost 5,898 residents between July 2006 and July 2007.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams said Thursday it is important to note the population loss was that of the entire region, not just Youngstown or one particular area.

He said the numbers show how important it is for the area to take a regional approach to revitalization.

“There is no doubt that Youngstown contributed to this, but virtually every area in the Valley lost some population,” he said. “This underscores the fact that we need to be working together as a region. We are a region, and we rise and fall as a region; that is why I will continue to push initiatives that promote regional cooperation.”

Other areas of the country saw even a greater population decline than the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area. Detroit lost more than three times as many people as any other metro area. Its population declined more than 27,300.

Some areas of the country, however, are experiencing anything but a loss in population.

Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, 27 were in the South and 20 were in the West. Two were in the Midwest, one — Fayetteville, Ark. — straddles the South and Midwest, and none was in the Northeast.

Four Texas metropolitan areas were among the biggest population gainers as Americans continued their trend of moving to the Sun Belt in 2006 and 2007.

Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas areas — Houston, Austin and San Antonio — also cracked the top 10.

Atlanta saw the second-largest population jump with slightly more than 151,000 new residents. Phoenix was third with more than 132,000, and was followed by Houston, Riverside, Calif., Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Austin, Las Vegas and San Antonio.

Experts credit much of the growth in the South to relatively strong local economies and housing prices that are among the most affordable in the U.S.

“People are running away from unaffordable housing, from the economic slowdown,” said Karl Eschbach, a state demographer in Texas. “I would expect Texas to stay at the top of a slowing game.”

According to figures compiled by Eschbach, 16 percent of Americans who moved to other states between July 2006 and July 2007 came to Texas, which led the nation for the second straight year in that category.

Home prices continue to be a big factor. A report earlier this month by Global Insight found that housing prices in the Dallas area were undervalued by as much as 30 percent.

Ann Sekesan, a pharmacy technician, moved her family from Pennsylvania to suburban Fort Worth last June.

after seeing spacious homes in Texas for under $200,000 on a television show.

“After we saw that on TV, my husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘Have you ever been to Texas?’” Sekesan said. “It’s amazing the size of a home you can get down here. It’s just incredible.”

Among other Census Bureau findings:

UOn a percentage basis, the Palm Coast, Fla., area was the fastest growing in the nation. Population there jumped by 7.2 percent to more than 88,000. The next areas experiencing the biggest surge in growth were St. George, Utah; Raleigh, N.C; Gainesville, Ga.; and Austin.

UThe New Orleans area, recovering from Hurricane Katrina, grew by 4 percent, or nearly 40,000 people, putting it 16th in terms of raw numbers but eighth for percentage growth. During the same survey last year, the population of New Orleans dropped by nearly 290,000 people.