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Chattanooga, Tenn., Continues to Lose Population to Outlying Suburbs

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

Jun. 24--Chattanooga and its biggest municipal neighbors have continued to lose population to outlying suburbs in the new century, according to government population figures released today.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that since 2000 the Tennessee cities of Chattanooga, East Ridge, Red Bank and Signal Mountain collectively have lost 2,002 residents. But the nearby Georgia cities of Fort Oglethorpe and Dalton -- and Collegedale in Tennessee -- each have grown from 9 to 18 percent since the 2000 census count.

"The American dream of living in the suburbs is very much alive and well," University of Georgia Demographer Doug Bachtel said Wednesday. "People continue to migrate out from the central city to where they think there is a better quality of life, better schools and less crime."

The trend toward suburban residency was evident throughout Tennessee, where all four of the state's largest cities recorded population losses last year. From 2000 to 2003, Chattanooga underwent a population loss of 0.5 percent, or 794 people. It lost fewer residents than any major Tennessee city except Nashville.

"I always wanted Chattanooga to grow more than Knoxville and Memphis, and I'm glad we finally are," said Ron Littlefield, a former city planner and economic development director who now serves on the Chattanooga City Council. "Given some of the economic blows we've taken, our population probably has been pretty flat. But long term, Chattanooga is still on an upward track, and we still have plenty of land to develop and grow."

Chattanooga's oldest and most land-locked suburbs, however, continued to suffer some of the biggest rates of population decline among comparable cities in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. East Ridge's population dropped by 3 percent, and Red Bank's population fell 3.4 percent from 2000 to 2003.

Those cities' declines were exceeded in the region only by the smaller Tennessee towns of South Pittsburg and Lookout Mountain, which each experienced a 4 percent dip in population, census figures show.

"We're surrounded by the city of Chattanooga and are pretty much fully developed as a town with no room to grow," Red Bank Mayor Howard Cotter said. "But we have some new development in the works, and I really don't think our population is declining that much, if at all."

In the 1990s, the census bureau once estimated that Red Bank had dropped by nearly 8 percent. But when the 2000 household census count was completed, Red Bank's population was found to have grown by nearly 1 percent from 1990 to 2000.

While some municipal leaders question their estimated population declines, others are happy about reports of their rapid growth.

Fort Oglethorpe, which grew an estimated 14 percent from 2000 to 2003, continues to attract Chattanoogans who like the jobs and attractions in the bigger city but want to live in a lower-cost and less-congested area, officials from the Georgia city said.

"We're moving up because a lot of people are moving in, and builders continue to erect more houses and apartments to accommodate even more people," said Jim Dinley, the new Fort Oglethorpe city manager.

Bob Pack, president of Capital Bank and chairman of the Catoosa County Economic Development Authority, is an East Ridge native who relocated to Fort Oglethorpe years ago.

He said that despite the Georgia income tax, the overall costs of property -- and of property taxes -- are less in Georgia than in Tennessee, which does not tax income.

Dalton Mayor Ray Elrod said that city, called the Carpet Capital of the World, continues to grow because of the strength of local industry.

"Our industrial companies, most of which are located in the city, continue to grow and draw more people," Mr. Elrod said.

Nationwide, the latest census estimates found that many people are heading West. Eight of the nation's top 10 fastest growing cities with populations of at least 100,000 are in the Western states of Arizona, Nevada and California, census figures show.

Gilbert, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix with 145,250 residents, had the fastest rate of population growth, expanding 32 percent between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2003. North Las Vegas, Nev., with a 25 percent growth rate, and Henderson, Nev., with a 23 percent population gain from 2000 to 2003, also were among the fastest growing cities. Both are in Southern Nevada's Clark County.

New York City continued to be the nation's most populous city, with 8.1 million residents. Los Angeles, the second most populous U.S. city at 3.8 million people, had the largest population increase, adding 125,209 people since Census 2000.

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