Dayton, Suburbs Among Population Losers

Jun 30, 12:05 AM

Current Headlines: By Ken McCall Staff Writer

Dayton is not alone in population loss in the region.

Eighteen cities with a population of more than 5,000 in the eight- county region have lost residents so far this decade, while 19 cities have gained.

And although Dayton lost 5.7 percent of its population from 2000 through July 1, 2006, Oakwood topped that figure.

The leafy inner ring suburb lost an estimated 6.6 percent or 604 of its residents. The city lost 105 people during the year ending last June 30 and now has an estimated population of 8,611.

Kettering's loss was just less than Dayton's. The largest inner ring suburb lost 5.4 percent of its population or 3,093 people for the decade. During the year ending last June it lost an estimated 608 people, leaving a population of 54,666.

Almost all the big gainers in the eight-county region, which includes Montgomery County and its seven contiguous counties, were in Warren and Butler counties. Monroe, Springboro, Mason, Trenton, Lebanon, Carlisle and Franklin all grew by doubledigit percentages so far this decade.

The only Montgomery County city in that league was Union, which grew by 10.1 percent or 573 people during the decade to reach an estimated population of 6,261.

Columbus continued to be a bright spot among Ohio's six largest cities, growing by an estimated 3,455 people during the last year, and by just under 22,000 or 3.0 percent for the decade. Cincinnati was the only other big Ohio city that didn't lose residents, although its population has barely changed over the decade, growing by 969 or 0.3 percent. All but 27 of the new residents appeared during the past year, the estimates show.

Cleveland had the largest share of population loss among Ohio's large cities, losing 1.4 percent or 6,287 people during the 12 months ending last June 30. That was the sixth-largest population drop among large U.S. cities. For the decade, it has lost more than 6.9 percent of its population or 33,000 people, the third-largest decrease in the nation.

(c) 2007 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.