PA Loses Population Since 2020 

Idaho, Montana and South Carolina (ranked 1,2,3) were the biggest winners while New York, California and Illinois were the biggest losers (ranked 50,49,48). Pennsylvania was 29th. The Independent Fiscal Office released a Research Brief based on recently released state population estimates for July 1, 2022. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022, Pennsylvania’s population decreased by 30,680. Pennsylvania lost residents to natural death rates exceeding birth rates and domestic migration during this time, while neighboring states had more outmigration. Click here to read the brief. Anecdotally, urban centers continue to lose population that is shifting to safer, more affordable communities like townships.