The latest census data show 'healthy' growth for Springfield and Branson
Gregory J. Holman
- Metro Springfield ranks 114 out of 394 metros in the United States.
- St. Louis is virtually flat, Kansas City ticked up slightly.
Springfield and nearby communities are growing steadily, according to United States Census Bureau data released Thursday.
Metro Springfield — which the federal government defines as Greene County, Christian County, Dallas County, Polk County and Webster County — grew by 1 percent from 2017 to 2018, adding 4,678 people for a total of 466,978 residents.
The Queen City metro is the 114th-largest of 394 measured in the census estimates. The census publishes estimates each year, in-between the 10-year counts ordered by the U.S. Constitution.
Branson continues to grow
When the government counts Branson's "micropolitan" area in the mix — Taney and Stone counties — the regional rank bumps up to 82, with 554,579 residents.
Either way you count it, Greene County alone makes up more than half of the population pie. But from 2017 to 2018 it grew less quickly than the region as a whole, at 0.7 percent, adding 2,104 people for a total of 291,923 residents.
Reached Thursday night, Springfield City Manager Jason Gage said in an email to the News-Leader, "My initial observation of the growth numbers is that our metro region is continuing to grow at a healthy and manageable rate and very much in line with expectations."
Springfield's track record of growth
The story of growth for Springfield and surrounding parts of southwestern Missouri is not new.
A decade ago, a newsletter published by state officials in charge of Missouri economic research reported that "Springfield and Branson are the fastest growing metropolitan and micropolitan areas in Missouri, respectively."
Metro Springfield started the 21st century with about 368,000 people. It has since grown 26.7 percent.
The Branson area counted 68,361 residents in the 2000 census. The latest data puts Stone and Taney counties at about 87,000 people, a 28 percent increase over the level recorded 19 years ago.
Not every part of Missouri can say the same. Metro St. Louis is essentially flat, with 2,805,465 residents, down 385 people from last year. It remains the 20th-largest metro in America — six times bigger than metro Springfield — but St. Louis city has lost 5 percent of its population since 2010.
The Post-Dispatch newspaper reported Thursday that St. Louis city is likely to experience a dismal milestone in 2020: Without a turnaround, the Arch City's population is expected to fall below its 1870 total of 310,864 people, the count recorded just a few years before the city split off from St. Louis County.
That historical event is often called "the Great Divorce of 1876." A "Better Together" campaign has recently emerged that would reunite the city with St. Louis County, a process that could require a statewide vote to amend the Missouri Constitution.
Meanwhile, metro Kansas City grew by 16,392 in 2017-2018, for a total of 2,143,651 people. It ranks as the 31st-largest metro in America, slipping one spot from last year. The News-Leader reported in 2015 that Kansas City is a significant destination for people who migrate out of Springfield.
Last month, the Kansas City Star reported that the Census Bureau expects the 2020 census could result in an undercount. The Trump administration wants to add a question about citizenship to the census form. Officials say as many as 630,000 U.S. households could skip the citizenship question, or fail to file the paperwork at all. Many undocumented immigrants fear that answering the question could lead to being rounded up by authorities for deportation.
But there may not be a citizenship question. In early April, USA TODAY reported that a third federal judge ruled against the administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
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