Ness Sandoval

An annual report by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the St. Louis metropolitan region saw a population drop of about half of one percent last year. Much of the estimated decrease came from the City of St. Louis.

The 14-county region hovered around 2.8 million people only shedding about 10,000 between 2020 and 2021, but the changes weren’t evenly distributed.

St. Louis and St. Louis County saw the largest population decreases while St. Charles, Jefferson and Lincoln counties had the largest gains.

The U.S. Census Bureau stopped collecting survey responses a month ago, after a year filled with multiple disruptions to the count, including the coronavirus pandemic and federal lawsuits. In the coming months, the bureau will begin to release data from the national headcount, the implications of which are sweeping.

The percentage of people in St. Louis who have self-responded to the 2020 census is significantly lower than in St. Louis County. In the city, 53% of residents have responded, compared to 76% in the county, according to self-response rate maps generated by the City University of New York Mapping Service. St. Clair and Madison counties in the Metro East have self-response rates of 68% and 74% respectively.

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