Cuyahoga County's population grows, driven by immigration
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Cuyahoga County's population grew by 2,000 people between 2023 and 2024, thanks almost exclusively to international migration, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Why it matters: With death rates increasing and fewer people having kids, Cleveland and other U.S. cities will have to continue relying on migration — domestic and international — to drive population growth.
State of play: Our region's population has been stagnant since 1990. Cuyahoga County lost population in 2021 and 2022.
By the numbers: Last year, Cuyahoga County deaths outpaced births by 215, and 6,741 people moved to other states or other Ohio counties, per Cleveland.com.
- Those losses were offset by a net gain of 8,876 immigrants.
Zoom out: All eight counties in the Cleveland and Akron metro areas gained population from international migration, Cleveland.com reports.
- All but Geauga County saw an overall growth in population from 2023.
The big picture: This surge in immigration is leading to growth in nearly 90% of U.S. metros, per the Census Bureau, even among those that saw an exodus during the pandemic.
- "All of the nation's 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas," the bureau said in a statement accompanying the new data.
What we're watching: What impact will President Trump's immigration crackdown have on Cleveland's population?