Census 2010: New Haven Has Fastest Growth Rate Among Major Northeastern U.S. Cities (Updated)

Today, the Census Bureau began releasing local-level Connecticut data from the 2010 Census. You may refer to the DataHaven Knowledge Center for a file showing the population growth in Connecticut's counties and largest cities. DataHaven also has a number of resources related to the 2010 Census, including more documents and interactive map-based visualizations, on this page (a newer web browser may be required to see the maps). Visualizations by race and ethnic group for Connecticut Census data can be seen here.

New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, including Stamford. In terms of overall numbers, New Haven added 6,153 persons, more than any other town or city within the State of Connecticut.

Additional information, and data visualizations, will be posted at DataHaven as they are released by the Census Bureau over the coming hours. DataHaven encourages organizations, agencies and citizens located within the Greater New Haven and Valley Region to contact them if they need assistance with using 2010 or other recent data from the Census Bureau.

Like the State of Connecticut and the nation as a whole, New Haven's growth was heavily the result of a large increase in the population of Hispanic/Latino origin - now representing 27% of the city's population, up from 21% in 2000. The New Haven Independent reports on the demographic changes in an article posted here.

Given that a number of other cities in the United States that are heavily dependent on the medical and educational sectors, such as St. Louis and Pittsburgh, have lost nearly 10% or more of their populations over the past 10 years (with Cleveland down 17%, and Detroit losing an astonishing 25% of its population), the relative stability of most parts of Connecticut's cities will likely be met with applause.

A presentation by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which you can view here, recently discussed the lessons that cities such as Hartford and Springfield can learn from so-called "resurgent cities" such as New Haven, Grand Rapids and Jersey City. (There's also a podcast available from a similar talk by the FRB at Community Intersections).

Update 3/24/11: Census data released at 2 P.M. today reveals that, between 2000 and 2010, New Haven also had the highest growth rate among major Northeast cities (if defined as NY, NJ and New England).

Cities of over 100,000 population in the Northeast: Growth Rate, 2000 to 2010 Census

New Haven CT +5.0%

Worcester MA +4.9%

Boston MA +4.8%

Stamford CT +4.7%

Cambridge MA +3.8%

Elizabeth NJ +3.7%

Bridgeport CT +3.4%

Jersey City NJ +3.1%

Waterbury CT +2.9%

Hartford CT +2.6%

Manchester NH +2.4%

New York City NY +2.1%

Lowell MA +1.3%

Newark NJ +1.3%

Springfield MA +0.6%

Yonkers NY -0.1%

Syracuse NY -1.5%

Paterson NJ -2.0%

Rochester NY -4.2%

Buffalo NY -10.7%

Within the broader region, Allentown (population 118,032) is the only major city with a growth rate higher than New Haven's. Philadelphia grew by 0.6%, the first time that city has grown since 1950, while Pittsburgh declined by 8.6%. Baltimore declined in population by 4.6%. Regarding these figures, the Hartford Courant's Rick Green writes, "If the population doesn't grow, the economy won't come back."

Nationally, even as many cities continue to lose population as sprawl expands at the fastest rate in U.S. history, many downtowns have seen revitalization, according to a Transport Politic analysis. As expected, Washington DC was one of the fastest-growing major cities, up 5.2% (adding nearly 30,000 new residents). But Chicago dropped 6.9%, St. Louis dropped 8.3%, and, as mentioned above, cities such as Cleveland and Detroit saw precipitous declines that were almost unimaginable and will be challenged in court. On the West Coast, LA and San Francisco grew by 2.6% and 3.7%, respectively. Several of the largest cities in Texas and Florida saw double digit gains in population, but those cities are not necessarily as comparable because they cover much larger land areas, including most suburban districts.