Here鈥檚 the bad news. Cleveland lost more people than any other city in the nation last year. That鈥檚 according to new census estimates. From 2008 to 2009, the city of Cleveland shrank by over 2600 people. Detroit, which has over twice the population, said goodbye to about 1700.
But Mark Salling, who analyzes census data at Cleveland State University, actually sees some silver linings in the new data. Even though Cleveland lost more than half a percent of its population in one year, that is actually a slower rate of decline than in past years.
SALLING: 鈥淲e鈥檝e been really in bad shape since 2000, and really well before that, and the story has always been Cleveland continues to lose huge numbers of population and yes we lost a lot of population this last year, but it鈥檚 a lot less than we had been. That鈥檚 good news.鈥�
Salling says this estimated data bodes well for the official 2010 Census numbers that will be released next year. He doesn鈥檛 expect those numbers to be as dire as some predict.
As for last year鈥檚 decline, the Census data doesn鈥檛 provide insight on whether the exodus was to nearby suburbs or far away cities like Phoenix, Arizona. Salling says the nationwide recession suggests many may have stayed in the region, as there are few jobs anywhere.
SALLING: 鈥淢any of these people are probably moving to inner ring suburbs in particular.鈥�
That鈥檚 because developers haven鈥檛 built much in the farther flung suburbs during the downturn. That too is good news for the core city.