Philly lost nearly 25,000 residents in 2021, according to new census report

New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show Philadelphia joined other large cities across the country in shedding residents between 2020 and 2021.

Stormy Philadelphia skyline at sunset

Philadelphia skyline at Sunset (Ashley Hahn/EOTS Flickr Group)

New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show Philadelphia joined other large U.S. cities in shedding residents between 2020 and 2021.

Philadelphia still ranks as the sixth most populous city as many other locations in the top 15 cities list also saw population decline.

Philadelphia lost 24,754 residents, dropping the city’s population to 1,576,521. That’s less than one million behind Phoenix which ranks as the fifth most populous, and more than a million ahead of San Antonio at number seven. San Antonio saw the biggest population increase followed closely by Phoenix. Both southwest cities added more than 13,000 people.

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More than half of the 15 fastest-growing cities were in the west, including five in Arizona.

New York City saw its population drop by more than 305,000 but still dominates the top spot on the most populous list with more than 8.4 million residents. That’s more than double Los Angeles, which ranks second at 3.8 million.

At the end of June, the Census Bureau will release more detailed information on the census including demographic information about where the population is growing or declining.

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