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1 in 4 US Counties 'Dying'

More deaths than births recorded in rising number of areas: census

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 23, 2011 5:50 AM CST

(Newser) – Almost a quarter of America's 3,142 counties are slowly dying, according to the US Census Bureau. Some 760 counties are now recording more deaths than births, census figures show, and what demographers call "natural decrease" is accelerating as the downturn pushes birth rates down and forces young people to move to where the jobs are. "Dying counties" can be found all over the country, from the Rust Belt to rural areas in the South, and even in some parts of fast-growing California.

"Natural decrease is an important but not widely appreciated demographic phenomenon that is reshaping our communities in both rural and urban cores of large metro areas,"a demographer tells the International Business Times, noting that areas with shrinking populations tend to be those that attract fewer Hispanic immigrants. The first place where natural decrease became a statewide trend over the last decade was West Virginia, and census data suggest Maine, Vermont, and Pennsylvania will soon be next.

Vacant houses are shown in Detroit, one of many 'Rust Belt' areas where the population is shrinking.
Vacant houses are shown in Detroit, one of many 'Rust Belt' areas where the population is shrinking.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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The downturn in the US economy is only exacerbating the problem. In some cases, the only thing that can pull an area out is an influx of young Hispanic immigrants or new economic development.
- Demographer Kenneth Johnson

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
beckjr2000
Feb 23, 2011 11:13 AM CST
There is a reason that the North and Northeast are called the "Rust Belt!" This is not a new development. These states have been bleeding jobs and population for the last 40 years. They are also the most unionized states in America and there is a direct correlation! State and Local property taxes are higher. State and in some cases cities have an income tax in place! These states are also the most heavily regulated. That is simply not the case in the South and West. In Cleveland to open a business would take over a year because of regulation while in Dallas is would take maybe three days to open the same business!
wjamny
Feb 23, 2011 9:57 AM CST
I wish my country government would cease to exist - it's just another layer of needless bureaucracy. I pay taxes to the village, town, county, state, and federal governments, it's friggin ridiculous.
boxcar
Feb 23, 2011 8:51 AM CST
So what else is new- ever since "Mechanized Agriculture" was finally put in place by late 20's and farm jobs disappeared, replaced by combines & tractors, people have been flocking to urban areas seeking jobs- Urbanization of America has been ongoing since The Great Depression- its part of that process To understand recent history, all you have to do is ask any really OLD-Timer what the 30s were like, where teenagers roamed the land w/a hoe to chop cotton for a plate of food- they called them HOE BOYS- bet you ain't heard that one, and you won't hear anything TRUE unless you ask those who lived thru it- One thing I learned was Lincoln caused The Great Depression when congress passed the A&M Land Grant College Act of 1862 and following year FIRED the slaves- IF you read Emancipation Proclamation for yourself, you will realize he only made it against the law for the REBEL states to own slaves. That means if you were in a UNION state you could keep your slaves. No, Lincoln did not FREE the slaves, the 13th ammendment FREED the slaves- What else don't we know- read it yourself
US

 
Census Bureau • recession • population • unemployment • demographics • US Census • Census data • demographic trends • 2010 census • population growth • census

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