CLEVELAND – The population of Cleveland is down again, according to the Census estimate. Some, however, are calling the numbers a good sign.
At its peak in the 1950s, Cleveland had over 900,000 people living here. A bustling midwestern city with a bright future ahead. Fast forward to the latest official census in 2010 and that number was just under 400,000 at 396,815. The drop is more than 50 percent. Census estimates since 2010 have continued the downward trend, but to many this most recent estimate is actually good news.
Cleveland City Councilman, Kerry McCormack says, “The good thing is that we are seeing a slowing in the population loss in greater Cleveland and Cleveland.
The slowing that McCormack is talking about is the fact that this recent reported drop, from 2016-2017, is only by a few hundred people. Census estimated that in 2016, Cleveland had 385, 809 people. They estimate that in 2017, we had 385, 525. This, to many, shows some signs that the big decline, is leveling off.
“What we need to do though is put a very aggressive regional population growth plan forward,” says McCormack. He’s not content with leveling off, he’s hoping to see the population begin to grow again. His strategy involves looking at what neighborhoods and cities that are growing, are doing right.
“Centralizing our college retention services in the city. We have over 200,000 college students here in greater Cleveland. We need to do a better job, like Philadelphia and Columbus, of retaining those students after they graduate, right here in the city of Cleveland,” says McCormack.
McCormick says job, housing and amenity investment is a given, but really feels a concentration on keeping college students in the area would move Cleveland in the positive direction in the future.
McCormick says, “We have thousands of jobs in Cleveland that are unfilled. So we have to bridge the gap between the unfilled jobs here in Cleveland and the college students that are here that can support those jobs and grow our population.”