The population of Duluth has dropped, again.
According to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, Duluth's population dropped by 614 people from 2005 to 2006.
"That has been the sort of general trend for a long time," said Tom Gillaspy, a state demographer for Minnesota.
According to the Census Bureau, Duluth's population has dropped by 2,055 people since 2000. In the last year, the population dropped from 84,781 to 84,167.
One of the main contributors is an aging population, Gillaspy said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Think of a young couple that gets married. They have two kids, now you've got four people; then one grows up and leaves, now it's three; then the other grows up and leaves and you're back to two again," Gillaspy said. "If we had an even spread of age distribution you wouldn't really notice any change, but since we have so many people approaching their 50s and 60s, the empty nesting has a bigger impact."
The phenomenon has been going on for decades in Duluth and across the country, Gillaspy said.
Duluth has seen a slight decline in people living in what the state refers to as group quarters, or people living in institutions, dorms or group homes. Gillaspy said that population dropped by about 300 people, or 5 percent, between 2000 and 2005.
"Another part of it is Duluth city is sort of bounded in by other jurisdictions," Gillaspy said.
A slight drop is expected to continue across St. Louis County.
"We show a slight decline until 2010, but it's real slight, almost too close to call; then a slight increase to 2015," Gillaspy said. "It's going to be very, very modest; almost no change between now and 2020."
The state's 2006 census report is due out in mid-July.
Some Minnesota cities saw an increase in population, including Hermantown, Rochester and St. Cloud. Minneapolis had a slight bump, while St. Paul's population went down slightly, according to the report.
ADVERTISEMENT
SARAH HORNER covers K-12 education. She can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5342.
