Cities That Will Empty Out by End of Century
24th May 2024
Nearly half of the over 31,000 cities in the United States will face some sort of population decline by the end of the century, according to a recently published study in Nature. An estimated 12% to 23% of the population will leave between 27% to 44% of the cities.
While this may sound far off, it does show possible trajectories to consider for Americans considering a move and for governments that need to adjust. To estimate future trends, the study considered projections under five scenarios, from environmentally friendly development to fossil-fueled development.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the study, Depopulation and associated challenges for US cities by 2100, listing here the 26 cities with 2020 population above 10,000 that are projected to shrink by at least 50% by 2100 — under the middle of the road scenario, which includes intermediate challenges. We also added socioeconomic data — median household income, poverty rate, unemployment rate, bachelor’s degree attainment rate — from the Census Bureau’s 5-year estimates 2022 American Community Survey.