Census Bureau: City's Population Keeps Ebbing

PHILADELPHIA-The US Census Bureau reports that the population in Pennsylvania’s largest city declined at a faster rate between 2000 and 2007 than that of any other major American city. However, the metro area’s chamber of commerce says the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and points to trends that could signal a reversal of the decline.

Although Philadelphia’s seven-year population decrease came in second only to that of Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in terms of raw numbers, “it’s 13th when you compare the percentage of population decline, which is a more appropriate indicator,” Mark Schweiker, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, tells GlobeSt.com.

He adds, “while the population has been shrinking in Philadelphia since 2000, it’s important to note that it’s declining at a much slower rate.” Between 2000 and 2001, Schweiker says, the city lost 1% of its population, but between 2006 and 2007 the rate of decline had tapered off to 0.25%.