Over 600 U.S. Cities With 20,000+ Residents Lost Population Since 2020
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An analysis of census estimates shows more than 600 incorporated places with populations of 20,000 or more lost residents between April 2020 and July 2025. The steepest percentage decline was in Big Spring, Texas, which lost 15.3% of its population, followed by Greenville, Mississippi, and Gallup, New Mexico. The shifts highlight diverging regional fortunes as new housing construction concentrates in booming Southern and Mountain West metros.
Facts First
- More than 600 U.S. cities with 20,000+ people lost population between April 2020 and July 2025.
- Big Spring, Texas, saw the steepest percentage drop at 15.3%, following the 2021 closure of two federal detention centers.
- Greenville, Mississippi, lost 10.6% of its residents, one of three majority-Black Mississippi cities in the top 10 fastest-declining list.
- Gallup, New Mexico, a hub for Indigenous commerce, lost 8.8% of its population, and its local daily newspaper closed in January.
- New housing construction since 2020 has concentrated almost entirely in booming Southern and Mountain West metropolitan areas.
What Happened
An Axios analysis of census estimates found that more than 600 incorporated places with populations of 20,000 or more lost population between April 2020 and July 2025. Big Spring, Texas, experienced the steepest percentage decline at 15.3%. Greenville, Mississippi, saw a 10.6% population decline, and Gallup, New Mexico, lost 8.8% of its residents. The majority of the top 10 fastest-shrinking cities in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana are majority-Black communities in the South.
Why this Matters to You
Population shifts can affect the availability of local services and influence where federal infrastructure dollars are directed. If you live in or near a shrinking city, you may see changes in your local economy and job market. Conversely, if you are in a fast-growing region, you are likely to see more new housing and potentially different pressures on local infrastructure. These trends may also shape the political and economic landscape of entire regions over time.
What's Next
Federal housing and infrastructure dollars are increasingly flowing toward fast-growing exurbs, a pattern that could widen the economic divide between booming and shrinking regions. Some cities, like St. Louis, demonstrate that a population decline over decades does not preclude maintaining a functioning civic economy. The ongoing concentration of new construction in specific metros suggests these regional population trends are likely to continue in the near term.