Suburbs’ Population Swelling Since 2000
By John Cramer, The Roanoke Times, Va.
Jan. 28–Virginia’s population has continued tilting toward the suburbs and away from its inner cities and rural areas since 2000, according to a University of Virginia study.
In Western Virginia, Franklin, Bedford, Botetourt and Roanoke counties continued to have population gains as open spaces give way to new homes.
But places such as Covington, Martinsville and Henry County continued to shed population, largely because of vanishing jobs in textile and paper mills, manufacturing, retail and other fields. Covington lost nearly 10 percent of its population, the highest rate of any community in the state.
Roanoke’s population also continued to drop — nearly 2,600 residents, or 2.7 percent — between the 2000 census and July 1, 2006, according to the study. The city’s population now stands at 92,328, down from 94,911 in 2000.
Demographic shifts can have repercussions for localities that lose population, such as reduced state funding, dwindling tax revenue, shuttered storefronts and decaying neighborhoods.
For places that gain population, it can mean more revenue and vibrancy but also traffic jams, crowded classrooms, loss of farmland, sprawl and trouble extending public services.
“Losing younger, working-age population in Southside and Southwest Virginia presents a continuing economic challenge for an increasingly older population,” said Michael Spar, a research associate for the university’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, which released the population survey Tuesday.
“Meanwhile, burgeoning metropolitan areas face new demands on water, school, transportation and efforts to preserve Virginia’s historically high quality of life.”
Qian Cai, director of the demographics and work force section of the Weldon Cooper Center, said Roanoke had more births than deaths but is losing population because more people are moving away.
She said the major reason Roanoke and other older cities are losing population is because more jobs are available in surrounding metropolitan areas.
Many families also believe the suburbs offer better schools, more space and newer houses, she said.
That demographic shift is reflected in the population numbers in Roanoke and Roanoke County. While the city lost nearly 2,600 residents over the past six years, the county gained more than 4,300. If the trend continues, the county’s population will exceed the city’s in 2008 or 2009.
The situation is different for many rural communities, where deaths outnumber births and younger and more educated people are leaving to find jobs, leaving behind an aging population and a dwindling tax base.
For both inner cities and rural areas that are shrinking, “it’s a downward spiral,” Cai said. “The key is to retain and attract good employers to attract young workers” who contribute to the population when they have children.
Growing metropolitan areas face a different problem. Sometimes they can’t build schools, roads and other infrastructure fast enough to handle population increases, she said.
Virginia’s population continued to increase but at a slower pace. The state’s annual growth slowed from 1.3 percent between 1990 and 2000 to 1.2 percent since then.
The statewide population grew 8 percent since 2000, gaining nearly 564,000 residents to reach 7.6 million. The growth was due to new residents moving in and more births than deaths. The biggest population gains were in suburban counties in Northern Virginia.
In Western Virginia, Franklin County had the largest population gain since 2000, 8.5 percent, mostly because of Smith Mountain Lake development.
Other Western Virginia localities with big population increases were Bedford County at 7.7 percent, Montgomery County at 5.8 percent, Roanoke County at 5.1 percent and Botetourt County at 4.9 percent.
Floyd County bucked the trend of population losses in rural areas by growing 8.3 percent.
Most areas whose populations dropped, stayed the same or had low growth were older inner cities, such as Roanoke and Richmond, and rural communities in Southwest Virginia and Southside.
Most localities gained population, but 33 counties and cities lost population.
Covington has lost 9.3 percent of its population since 2000, while Martinsville has lost 7.1 percent and Henry County has lost 5.9 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
—–
To see more of The Roanoke Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.roanoke.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Roanoke Times, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.