The 10 US Cities Losing Population at the Fastest Clip

Some of America's most troubled places are where people are quietly slipping away. A new analysis of Census estimates finds more than 600 US cities with at least 20,000 residents have shrunk since 2020, revealing a pattern of decline that's heavily concentrated in majority-Black towns in the Deep South, Mexican-American and Native-American communities in the Southwest, and older Midwestern industrial hubs, reports Axios. These cities often face intertwined problems: aging infrastructure, limited job growth, shortages of doctors and teachers, and fewer amenities to keep young people from leaving. While population loss doesn't always equal collapse—St. Louis is a notable long-term exception—the trend is shifting federal housing and infrastructure dollars toward booming exurbs, leaving shrinking cities with eroding tax bases and waning political clout. A look:

The 10 fastest shrinking cities

1. Big Spring, Texas: -15.3%
2. Greenville, Miss.: -10.6%
3. Gallup, NM: -8.8%
4. Jackson, Miss.: -8.1%
5. Vicksburg, Miss.: -8.1%
6. St. Louis, Mo.: -7.7%
7. Twentynine Palms, Calif.: -7.6%
8. Florence, Ariz.: -7.6%
9. Pine Bluff, Ark.: -7.4%
10. New Iberia, La.: -7.0%