ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Parts of the greater St. Louis metro area are growing, but the metro itself is not, according to a study from the University of Missouri.
After crunching census estimates, associate extension professor Dr. Mark White says both the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County have lost people over the last decade, while St. Charles County is 40% bigger.
"The good news is that the net of out-migration appears to have slowed over the past couple of years," White says. "But the bad news is the pace of natural increase has also slowed."
He says it's a big deal if St. Louis doesn't grow because it represents 45% of the state's economic output, with 35% of the state's population.
"So goes St. Louis, so goes the state," White says.
The St. Louis region overall stands at 0.0% growth from 2010 to 2020, according to the study. It also shows St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren Counties are growing in that time at a rate between 0.27% to more than 0.63%.
Mayor Tishaura Jones tells KMOX that tackling the population stagnation is a long-term strategy and working with the new St. Louis Community Development Director Neal Richardson is part of it.
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She says if "other problems" like crime, poverty and years of neglect in some communities are solved, then she expects the population to begin growing.
"There are still businesses that are looking at St. Louis as a business opportunity," Jones says.
The study from Mizzou uses annual estimates, while the U.S. Census Bureau works to put out its every-decade count of the populace.
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