Despite many cities across Colorado increasing their population, not every prominent city in the state did. Established along the South Platte River in 1881, Sterling quickly developed into a business hub on Colorado’s eastern plains.
Although it has been through its share of booms and busts, Sterling’s residents are now looking for somewhere else to settle down. Sterling worries that it will continue to lose more people following a 7.9% population drop in recent years.
El Paso, Texas
El Paso is a mid-size American city. Self-sufficient and predictably large, the city has a modern downtown, with a commercial district. Its extreme west location can feel isolating, meaning large industries have never succeeded in taking root.
El Paso is seeing many of its residents leave, but more people arrive than depart, giving the city a population slight increase of 5.2%.
Dyersburg, Tennessee
Dyersburg in northwest Tennessee, has been encountering a dip in its population for years; with the humble city facing downward drift, there was no sign that it would stop until recently.
In 2018 the Frazier Industrial Company opened a new manufacturing plant in Dyersburg, which generated 120 new jobs. It also brought more than $17 million in investments, which may help give the city’s economy the boost it desperately needs.
Portsmouth, Virginia
Virginia has been trying its best to rally people to relocate into the state. While attempting to bring people in, Virginia hasn't deterred people from heading out of state to explore greener pastures elsewhere. Portsmouth was always one of the biggest cities in Virginia. It's a coastal treasure with a collection of antique homes spanning three centuries, with an assortment of quirky shops and eclectic, locally-owned restaurants.
But since the 1960s, there has been a continued drop in its population. In 1960, Portsmouth's community was 114,773, but since then, the figure has dipped below 100,000. The 2018 census counted 94,632 people living in Portsmouth, Virginia, giving the city a 17% decrease in residents since the 1960s.
St. Louis, Missouri
Nestled between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers banks sits the city of St. Louis, known for its baseball and the most famous arch that isn't part of a fast-food logo. But despite that, St. Louis is now placed as the 64th largest city in the country. St. Louis was once bustling city, but now its numbers are steadily declining as people look to find somewhere better to live.
There are hundreds of abandoned buildings in St. Louis mainly because of a lack of investment and government administration that favored suburbanization. 64% of St. Louis residents have left since the 50s and since 2010, the city has experienced a further drop in its population by 5%.