Nationwide, the majority of counties have lost population since 2010, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. State by state, the share of counties that have lost population varies substantially (as does the number of counties per state!). In 27 states, half or more of the counties lost population between 2010 and 2014. The highest proportion of loss—80%–was seen in Illinois and Rhode Island.
North Carolina was one of the 23 states where less than half of the counties lost population since 2010. (Of course, with 49 of 100 counties losing population, North Carolina narrowly missed that cut off.) None of Delaware’s three counties lost population between 2010 and 2014, the lowest proportion of loss observed. Among more populous states, 31% of California’s 58 counties and 40% of Texas’s 254 counties lost population between 2010 and 2014.
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