Richmond growing faster than suburbs

The City of Richmond is growing in population faster than its suburban neighbors, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

March 27, 2015; 12:00 PM • by Capital News Service

By Margo Maier | Capital News Service

The City of Richmond is growing in population faster than its suburban neighbors, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Richmond’s had an estimated population of 217,853 on July 1, 2014, the bureau said. That represented an increase of 6.7 percent since the 2010 census. In contrast, from 2010 to 2014, Chesterfield County grew 5.1 percent; Henrico County, 4.9 percent; and Hanover County, 2.1 percent.

From 2013 to 2014, Richmond’s population jumped 1.5 percent–more than Chesterfield, Henrico or Hanover.

As a whole, the Richmond metropolitan statistical area has grown from 1.2 million in the April 2010 census to more than 1.26 million last year, the Census Bureau estimates. That’s an increase of 4.3 percent, including more than 1 percent from 2013 to 2014.

The Richmond metro area consists of 17 counties and cities. Percentage-wise, only New Kent County is growing faster than the city of Richmond this decade (since 2010, New Kent County grew about 8.6 percent, to 20,021).

Four localities in the Richmond metro area have lost population this decade: Dinwiddie, Sussex, and Charles City counties and the city of Hopewell, the Census Bureau said.

Since 2010, the fastest-growing locality in Virginia was the city of Fredericksburg. Its population grew 16.7 percent, to 28,350 last year.

The second fastest-growing locality from 2010 to 2014 was Loudoun County. Its population jumped 16.2 percent, to 363,050.

Virginia’s total population was estimated at 8,326,289 in 2014. That was an increase of 4.1 percent since 2010, including a 0.7 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.

— ∮∮∮ —