Census Says…
The rise and fall—and the repeat or reversal of the trend—of U.S. populations in the largest cities across the map has recently focused on the Golden State. Most often, the general understanding is that Californians are heading out of town to new zip codes — and they’re doing so in a hurried collective, with a few celebs at the forefront to add pop-culture appeal to the rush.
But is the California exodus a concrete fact?
When looking at the updated data for the 100 largest cities in America, which highlights the decrease or increase for each from 2022 until now, some of the claims are certainly true … but … the numbers also uncover a more significant trend.
Take a look.
100. San Bernardino, California
2023 population: 223,044 (.19% increase)
99. Richmond, Virginia
2023 population: 226,472 (.03% decrease)
98. Frisco, Texas
2023 population: 227,528 (3.91% increase)
97. Spokane, Washington
2023 population: 229,513 (0.1% increase)
96. Norfolk, Virginia
2023 population: 230,163 (1.05% decrease)
95. Garland, Texas
2023 population: 235,293 (1.4% decrease)
94. Boise, Idaho
2023 population: 240,713 (.69% increase)
93. Port St. Lucie, Florida
2023 population: 240,777 (5.21% increase)
92. Scottsdale, Arizona
2023 population: 244,402 (.34% increase)
91. Irving, Texas
2023 population: 248,931 (1.04% decrease)
90. Glendale, Arizona
2023 population: 251,305 (.34% increase)
89. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
2023 population: 252,274 (.39% increase)
88. Chesapeake, Virginia
2023 population: 254,479 (.64% increase)
87. St. Petersburg, Florida
2023 population: 257,290 (.18% decrease)
86. Laredo, Texas
2023 population: 257,795 (.32% increase)
85. Toledo, Ohio
2023 population: 265,468 (.57% decrease)
84. Lubbock, Texas
2023 population: 267,329 (1.21% increase)
83. Jersey City, New Jersey
2023 population: 268,578 (2.74% decrease)
82. Fort Wayne, Indiana
2023 population: 269,621 (.68% increase)
81. Madison, Wisconsin
2023 population: 269,897 (.13% increase)
80. Buffalo, New York
2023 population: 274,618 (.4% decrease)
79. Reno, Nevada
2023 population: 278,577 (1.79% increase)
78. Chula Vista, California
2023 population: 278,734 (.27% increase)
77. St. Louis, Missouri
2023 population: 279,390 (2.4% decrease)
76. Gilbert, Arizona
2023 population: 281,169 (1.46% increase)
75. Anchorage, Alaska
2023 population: 283,154 (.87% decrease)
74. Chandler, Arizona
2023 population: 283,301 (.69% increase)
73. Durham, North Carolina
2023 population: 287,794 (.4% increase)
72. Plano, Texas
2023 population: 291,450 (.55% increase)
71. North Las Vegas, Nevada
2023 population: 295,097 (3.75% increase)
70. Lincoln, Nebraska
2023 population: 295,222 (.44% increase)
69. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2023 population: 295,793 (.78% decrease)
68. Greensboro, North Carolina
2023 population: 299,175 (.15% increase)
67. St. Paul, Minnesota
2023 population: 299,830 (1.21% decrease)
66. Newark, New Jersey
2023 population: 301,055 (1.01% decrease)
65. Cincinnati, Ohio
2023 population: 306,592 (.38% decrease)
64. Santa Ana, California
2023 population: 308,549 (.14% decrease)
63. Orlando, Florida
2023 population: 312,280 (.5% increase)
62. Irvine, California
2023 population: 312,280 (.86% increase)
61. Corpus Christi, Texas
2023 population: 317,615 (.03% decrease)
60. Lexington, Kentucky
2023 population: 320,576 (.19% decrease)
59. Riverside, California
2023 population: 322,538 (.83% increase)
58. Stockton, California
2023 population: 324,888 (.43% increase)
57. Henderson, Nevada
2023 population: 328,516 (.98% increase)
56. Honolulu, Hawaii
2023 population: 337,088 (1.23% decrease)
55. Anaheim, California
2023 population: 343,654 (.33% decrease)
54. Cleveland, Ohio
2023 population: 360,040 (1.09% decrease)
53. New Orleans, Louisiana
2023 population: 364,659 (1.65% decrease)
52. Arlington, Texas
2023 population: 390,399 (.3% decrease)
51. Wichita, Kansas
2023 population: 392,878 (.36% decrease)
50. Tampa, Florida
2023 population: 393,264 (.8% increase)
49. Aurora, Colorado
2023 population: 394,941 (.72% increase)
48. Tulsa, Oklahoma
2023 population: 408,956 (.3% decrease)
47. Bakersfield, California
2023 population: 416,175 (1.04% increase)
46. Minneapolis, Minnesota
2023 population: 418,075 (.86% decrease)
45. Oakland, California
2023 population: 422,994 (1.26% decrease)
44. Miami, Florida
2023 population: 435,919 (.45% decrease)
43. Long Beach, California
2023 population: 439,153 (1.87% decrease)
42. Virginia Beach, Virginia
2023 population: 454,289 (.37% decrease)
41. Raleigh, North Carolina
2023 population: 472,540 (.36% increase)
40. Omaha, Nebraska
2023 population: 479,655 (.79% decrease)
39. Atlanta, Georgia
2023 population: 490,270 (.63% decrease)
38. Colorado Springs, Colorado
2023 population: 491,530 (.78% increase)
37. Kansas City, Missouri
2023 population: 509,319 (.09% increase)
36. Mesa, Arizona
2023 population: 516,783 (.71% increase)
35. Sacramento, California
2023 population: 528,306 (.31% increase)
34. Tuscon, Arizona
2023 population: 546,019 (.26% increase)
33. Fresno, California
2023 population: 549,242 (.43% increase)
32. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2023 population: 555,640 (1.21% decrease)
31. Albuquerque, New Mexico
2023 population: 558,523 (.36% decrease)
30. Baltimore, Maryland
2023 population: 563,455 (1.14% decrease)
29. Boston, Massachusetts
2023 population: 617,459 (2.89% decrease)
28. Portland, Oregon
2023 population: 619,286 (1.72% decrease)
27. Detroit, Michigan
2023 population: 621,193 (.9% decrease)
26. Louisville, Kentucky
2023 population: 621,764 (.55% decrease)
25. Memphis, Tennessee
2023 population: 621,777 (.51% decrease)
24. Washington, D.C.
2023 population: 631,693 (2.9% decrease)
23. Las Vegas, Nevada
2023 population: 653,843 (.54% increase)
22. Nashville, Tennessee
2023 population: 658,525 (1.51% decrease)
21. El Paso, Texas
2023 population: 678,049 (.03% decrease)
20. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2023 population: 697,763 (.73% increase)
19. Denver, Colorado
2023 population: 699,288 (.86% decrease)
18. San Francisco, California
2023 population: 715,717 (6.3% decrease)
17. Seattle, Washington
2023 population: 725,487 (.58% decrease)
16. Indianapolis, Indiana
2023 population: 871,449 (.6% decrease)
15. Charlotte, North Caroliina
2023 population: 885,663 (.34% increase)
14. Columbus, Ohio
2023 population: 907,865 (.07% increase)
13. San Jose, California
2023 population: 930,862 (2.71% decrease)
12. Fort Worth, Texas
2023 population: 961,885 (1.4% increase)
11. Jacksonville, Florida
2023 population: 962,970 (.44% increase)
10. Austin, Texas
2023 population: 966,292 (.11% increase)
9. Dallas, Texas
2023 population: 1,259,404 (1.13% decrease)
8. San Diego, California
2023 population: 1,374,076 (.27% decrease)
7. San Antonio, Texas
2023 population: 1,479,493 (.95% increase)
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2023 population: 1,527,886 (1.55% decrease)
5. Phoenix, Arizona
2023 population: 1,651,344 (.82% increase)
4. Houston, Texas
2023 population: 2,264,876 (.51% decrease)
3. Chicago, Illinois
2023 population: 2,608,425 (1.65% decrease)
2. Los Angeles, California
2023 population: 3,769,485 (1.04% decrease)
1. New York City, New York
2023 population: 7,888,121 (3.48% decrease)
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