THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9510020068
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF, WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Norfolk has lost nearly 20,000 residents since 1990, ranking it among the top 10 most rapidly declining cities with populations greater than 100,000.
The news from the Census Bureau was better for Chesapeake, which ranked eighth among the fastest-growing cities with populations greater than 100,000.
The Census Bureau, as it does every two years, released population totals today for the nation's 271 metropolitan areas and its more than 36,000 cities, towns and places.
The figures showed that Norfolk's population dropped 7.6 percent between 1990 and 1994, from 261,250 to 241,426.
It was a trend evident in older cities across the country.
Fifty-nine of the 209 U.S. cities with populations greater than 100,000 lost residents between 1990 and 1994. Twenty-two of the cities are in the Midwest, 19 are in the North, 12 are Southern cities and six are in the West.
Five of the 10 most rapidly declining cities were in New England, with Hartford, Conn., experiencing the largest decline, followed by New Haven, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Waterbury, Conn.
Rounding out the top 10 population losers for the period between 1990 and 1994, along with Norfolk, were the cities of Newark, N.J.; St. Louis; Lansing, Mich.; and Washington.
By contrast, Chesapeake showed a population increase of 18.8 percent, or 28,595 residents. Chesapeake's population, at 151,982 in 1990, had risen to 180,577 during the four-year period.
Las Vegas was the city more people were betting on for jobs and affordable housing than any other metropolitan area in the country.
The Census Bureau reported that the area around the neon-washed center of America's gambling industry grew fastest in the nation between 1990 and 1994 - jumping 26 percent, to more than 1 million.
Overall metropolitan-area population increased by 9.6 million, or 4.9 percent, and the areas were home to nearly 80 percent of U.S. residents. Population growth outside these areas was 2 million, or 3.9 percent.
The Las Vegas metro area's population climbed from 852,646 to 1,076,267.
The only other metropolitan area with more than 1 million residents among the top 25 growth areas was the Atlanta area, which grew 12.6 percent, to more than 3.3 million residents, the Census Bureau said.
All the fastest-growing metropolitan areas were in the South or West.
Among the fastest-growing cities with populations greater than 100,000, Palmdale, Calif., was second at 47.2 percent growth. Chandler, Ariz., was third, with a growth rate of 32.7 percent, the bureau said.
KEYWORDS: CENSUS POPULATION by CNB