Census Bureau: Puerto Rico metro areas lost population 2017-18; Florida, Texas metros gained

Neill Borowski
Updated
Census Bureau: Puerto Rico metro areas lost population 2017-18; Florida, Texas metros gained

Metro areas in Texas and Florida were standouts in percentage gains in population from 2017 to 2018, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The greatest percentage losses were in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, where all metro areas shrank, according to the bureau's estimates for population as of July 1, 2018.

In actual residents added, the biggest winner was the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, which increased by 131,767 residents, or 1.8% in the year. The greatest headcount loss was in the San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, Puerto Rico, metro – down 81,087 people or 3.9% in the one year.

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The top 25 metros in percentage gains from 2017 to 2018:

  1. Midland, Texas 4.3%

  2. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-North Carolina 3.8%

  3. St. George, Utah 3.5%

  4. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida 3.2%

  5. Odesssa, Texas 3.2%

  6. The Villages, Florida 3.1%

  7. Greeley, Colorado 3.0%

  8. Boise City, Idaho 2.9%

  9. Bend-Redmond, Oregon 2.8%

  10. Provo-Orem, Utah 2.6%

  11. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 2.6%

  12. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama 2.5%

  13. Austin-Round Rock, Texas 2.5%

  14. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida 2.5%

  15. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida 2.4%

  16. Clarksville, Tennessee-Kentucky 2.3%

  17. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada 2.2%

  18. Olympia-Tumwater, Washington 2.2%

  19. Spartanburg, South Carolina 2.1%

  20. Idaho Falls, Idaho 2.1%

  21. Sherman-Denison, Texas 2.1%

  22. Raleigh, North Carolina 2.1%

  23. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida 2.0%

  24. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida 2.0%

  25. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona 2.0%

The Paseo de Diego sits empty in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 17, 2019. New Census Bureau data shows that Puerto Rico lost nearly 4% of its population after Hurricane Maria - the greatest population drop in the recorded history of the island, according to one demographer.
The Paseo de Diego sits empty in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 17, 2019. New Census Bureau data shows that Puerto Rico lost nearly 4% of its population after Hurricane Maria - the greatest population drop in the recorded history of the island, according to one demographer.

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Metro areas, by percentage, that lost the most population from 2017 to 2018:

  1. Ponce, Puerto Rico - 4.6%

  2. Mayaguez, Puerto Rico - 4.3%

  3. Aguadilla-Isabela, Puerto Rico - 4.0%

  4. San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, Puerto Rico - 3.9%

  5. Guayama, Puerto Rico - 3.8%

  6. Arecibo, Puerto Rico - 3.6%

  7. San German, Puerto Rico - 3.6%

  8. Charleston, West Virginia - 1.6%

  9. Pine Bluff, Arkansas - 1.5%

  10. Farmington, New Mexico - 1.5%

  11. Danville, Illinois - 1.2%

  12. Watertown-Fort Drum, New York - 1.2%

  13. Beckley, West Virginia - 1.2%

  14. Lawton, Oklahoma -1.1%

  15. Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 1.0%

  16. Weirton-Steubenville, West Virginia-Ohio - 0.9%

  17. Enid, Oklahoma - 0.9%

  18. Peoria, Illinois - 0.9%

  19. Parkersburg-Vienna, West Virginia - 0.9%

  20. Wheeling, West Virginia-Ohio - 0.8%

  21. Monroe, Louisiana - 0.8%

  22. Decatur, Illinois - 0.8%

  23. Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio - 0.8%

  24. Fairbanks, Alaska - 0.8%

  25. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas - 0.7%

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Census Bureau: Puerto Rico metro areas lost population 2017-18; Florida, Texas metros gained