Thread: Population drastically declines in Ohio cities

Population drastically declines in Ohio cities

Posted 13m ago |

Ohio's major cities continued their drastic decline during the past decade, illustrating that hard times show no signs of easing in the industrial heartland.

Places that once prospered from making things — steel, tires, cash registers, bikes — continued a free-fall that started a half-century ago and may be getting worse, according to Census Bureau population numbers released Wednesday.

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Youngstown, Dayton and Akron all suffered huge population declines from 2000 to 2010.

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Cleveland lost 17% of its population to fall to 396,815 — its fewest inhabitants since 1900. The city peaked in 1950 at 914,808. More residents abandoned the city from 2000 to 2010 than in the 1990s. Nearby suburbs shrank, too, although some population growth occurred in distant suburbs.

"These trends are much bigger than government can do anything about, not that government shouldn't try," says Cleveland State University demographer Mark Salling.

The lack of immigrants hurts Ohio's cities. Unlike cities in other states, Ohio's cities are gaining few Hispanic residents, says Brookings Institution demographer William Frey.

The sole exception to the declining fortunes of Ohio cities was Columbus. The state capital and home of Ohio State University grew 11% in the decade and is twice as big as Cleveland.

The manufacturing troubles in what was once among the nation's biggest and most prosperous states — birthplace of seven presidents — are causing major political and economic upheaval.

A swing state in presidential elections, Ohio will lose two Congressional seats in 2012, reducing its power in the electoral college that determines the presidency.

Under state law, Republicans control redistricting and expect to eliminate two Democratic Congress members from the industrial belt in northern Ohio. The congressional delegation will change from 13 Republicans and five Democrats to 13-3, says former Ohio Republican Party chairman Bob Bennett.

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a former Cleveland mayor, will almost certainly have his district abolished, Bennett says. Other Democratic districts will be combined.

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Republicans will put some Democratic voters into Republican districts, making elections more competitive during the next decade, Bennett says. "We can protect all the Republican districts. But will all the Republicans have solidly Republican districts? Probably not," he says.

Ohio's economic change is even more dramatic than its political realignment.

The state lost 600,000 private sector jobs from 2000 to 2010 — two-thirds of them well-paid manufacturing jobs. Overall, the percentage of Ohio residents that were working fell from 50% in 2000 to 44% in 2010.

Only government employment remained stable in Ohio. The state's growth is increasingly centered around state government, higher education and other businesses near Columbus.

Delaware County, just north of Columbus, was the state's fastest growing county during the decade, up 58% to 174,214. But that growth has evaporated. Requests for new lots fell from 3,000 in 2004 to five last year, says Delaware planner Scott Sanders.

"We need the entire Midwest to be successful," says Chester Jourdan, a regional planner in Columbus.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/cen ... nsus_N.htm

The "immigrants" ILLEGAL immigrants come here have kids on welfare and drain the Medicaid, food stamp and free lunch programs dry. The cost of education goes up, they work for cash and ony pay sales tax, and most work for cash under the table. They set up Mercados at flea markets and buy from each other in cash. A lot of the goods they sell are foodstuffs that you can't find in any store in the US and knock off merchandise.

We have an entire segment of people in this country living off the system and supporting other countries through remittances of their cash earnings. 20-30 million are not "in the shadows" they are in everyone's face and they are nothing more than looters. JMO.

I don't see a problem with the population decline in these Ohio cities and I imagine they don't either. What the people of these states like Ohio want is not more "hispanic immigrants" or any other set of immigrants, but their industries back so they can start making steel and tires and bikes and cash registers again.

Ditto NewMexican and Judy.

I have the privilege of living in Columbus, OH where the increase sure seems to be from more Latinos. My friend and I went to a Golden Corral - buffet place that serves many kinds of ethnic and more American type foods - yesterday. It'd been 2 years since last time there. Almost all the workers were hipanic and were chattering away in Spanish and a couple couldn't understand me when I said there was no butter for the rolls. Finallly one hispanic girl who spoke better English saw me and asked if I needed anything.

Two years ago that was not the case at all, it was young white and black workers mostly. The illegals must be flocking here as I do see more and more around the far east side where I live and working in fast food places and many (not all) tend to be unhelpful and rude with a look of distain on their face when they have to wait on me. At a thrift store I like to go to, there are mostly hispanic employees and they are rude there too (again most, not all but I'm pretty sure it's the legal hispanic immigrants that are the nice ones!). They talk to each other in loud Spanish and stand in the center of the aisles often and don't move until you go up and say excuse me even though they have already looked at you and see you coming. Again that look even though I naturally tend to smile at all people and be polite.

I saw several food carts set up in the neighborhood last year when it was warmer. They would come and go at different places.

Depressing... because you know many of them have to be illegal. The Mexican restaurants employ almost all hispanics, many of whom can barely understand you. My friend loves Mexican and I do too but I just don't want to go anymore. It just isn't right that they are allowed to be racist and take jobs that should go to citizens - jobs of many other areas.

Depressing... it's coming this way...

I don't get why a population decline is such a horrible tragedy to these writers. Personally, my dream is to get AWAY from people - especially illegals.

I can't stand the way these articles make it sound like your town is a loser and headed down the drain because the illegals or "immigrants" didn't come in and "save" it!

One more thing - when I hear of towns with declining populations - it makes me want to MOVE there!