Demographics

The number of Black residents in the St. Louis region has slightly increased over the past year. New U.S. Census data shows there are about 2,900 more African Americans in the area. Despite that rise, St. Louis city’s Black population is declining.

The number of Hispanics or Latinos in the St. Louis region has significantly increased over the past year, according to U.S. census data released last week. The data shows there are more than 13,900 Hispanics or Latinos in the area.

The St. Louis metropolitan area is showing troubling signs when it comes to population trends.

According to the U.S. Census data’s 2021 American Community Survey, immigrant households in the St. Louis region earned nearly $6 billion in total income, and held over $4 billion in spending power. St. Louis University demographer Ness Sandoval says immigrants are making a small but meaningful contribution to the vibrancy of the area’s economy, but there is more work that needs to be done to attract more immigrants.

According to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the St. Louis region lost more than 3,200 residents in the year ending July 1, 2023. The population decline caused the region to drop from the 21st-largest U.S. metro area to the 23rd, now behind Charlotte and Orlando.

The region bucks the norm in most other major metropolitan areas: people from India make up the largest share of foreign-born people in the St. Louis region over people from Mexico.

Public school enrollment is relatively flat this year, compared to last year. But it is still down from recent years, and experts say more decline is likely coming.

The makeup of the St. Louis region is changing. Here’s what the latest census date tells us about the population and racial demographic trends of the region — and what challenges local leaders must tackle to attract more St. Louisans in the decade to come.

The new initiative aims to help Latin American startups in agtech or geospatial land in St. Louis and also help similar companies in St. Louis more easily expand to those international markets.

New census data shows the St. Louis metropolitan region lost around 19,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. St. Louis and St. Louis County led the declines while suburban and exurban counties, like St. Charles, Lincoln and Jefferson, posted gains as they have in the past.