Pittsburgh city population growing fast
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Like the Duquesne Incline, the city's population is going up. Photo: Alexis Johnson/Axios
The city of Pittsburgh added thousands of residents over the last year, one of the biggest population increases the city has seen in decades.
Why it matters: The Steel City regularly loses population due to a hangover of the steel industry collapse and residents seeking greener pastures in the suburbs. Now, a turnaround could be forming thanks to immigration and more urban jobs.
Driving the news: Pittsburgh has added 4,708 residents between 2020 and 2024, the largest numeric increase of any Pennsylvania municipality during that stretch, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.
- The city added 2,902 residents between 2023 and 2024, according to the census data.
- It now sits at 307,688 residents and has made up for all its pandemic-era losses.
Between the lines: This is "one of the largest annual population gains for the city of Pittsburgh in a long time," said Chris Briem, a regional economist with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research.
- He noted that annual census estimates are not as accurate as decennial censuses and mostly reflect county-level population change and recent data on building permits for residential housing, as opposed to physical counts.
Yes, but: Pittsburgh grew 1.6% between 2020 and 2024, which is much slower than exploding cities in the Sunbelt like Fort Worth, Texas (9.7%), and Charlotte, North Carolina (7.8%).
- Some smaller towns in the region's exurbs — like Slippery Rock Township and Lancaster Township in Butler County — also easily outstripped Pittsburgh percentage wise, growing over 25% between 2020 and 2024.
State of play: Immigration has played a key role in maintaining the city's and region's population as native Pittsburghers continue to leave the region and an aging population continues to die off.
Zoom out: Philadelphia saw the largest numeric drop of any municipality in Pennsylvania, losing 29,878 residents, and is in danger of being overtaken by San Antonio as the nation's sixth largest city, according to the census.
Zoom in: Not all of the Pittsburgh region is experiencing growth.
- Penn Hills lost 1,423 residents, and Bethel Park lost 1,189 people between 2020 and 2024, according to data.
- California borough in the Mon Valley lost 13.8% of its population during that four-year span, the biggest percentage drop of any municipality in the state.
What they're saying: Mayor Ed Gainey said he is proud the city added more people than any other city in the state, and he touted his efforts to land affordable housing investment in Downtown, uphold policies that welcome immigrants, and grow city jobs and small businesses.
- "Since the 1960s, our city faced decades of population decline and disinvestment, and our ability to reverse that trend in the last few years is testament to the hard work of my administration and our unique collaboration with the county, state, and our congressional reps," he said.