CLEVELAND (WCMH/AP) – New U.S. Census Bureau estimates indicate that Ohio’s most populous county is no longer the one that includes Cleveland but the one that includes Columbus.
The estimates have Cuyahoga County losing about 5,700 people last year while Franklin County gained over 14,000 residents. That would leave each county with a population of more than 1.2 million people, with Franklin County ahead by roughly 15,000.
Cleveland.com reports that a big factor in the Cleveland area’s population loss was people moving elsewhere. The bureau estimates that more than 10,000 Cuyahoga County residents moved elsewhere in Ohio or to another state. The counties anchored by Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo also lost residents to so-called domestic migration, in smaller numbers.
The statewide population held relatively steady at more than 11.6 million.
Nationally, Maricopa County, Arizona surpassed Harris County, Texas, as the county with the nation’s highest annual population growth. Maricopa County gained 81,360 people over the last year, or about 222 people per day. Cook County, Illinois, where Chicago is based, saw the largest decline, although it remains the second most populated county in the United States. Cuyahoga County, home of Cleveland, saw the nation’s fouth largest decline.
Top 25 Fastest-Growing Metro Areas
| Metro Area | 2016 Population | Percent Change | |
| 1 | The Villages, FL | 123,996 | 4.3 |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC | 449,295 | 3.9 |
| 3 | Bend-Redmond, OR | 181,307 | 3.6 |
| 4 | Greeley, CO | 294,932 | 3.5 |
| 5 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 722,336 | 3.1 |
| 6 | St. George, UT | 160,245 | 3.1 |
| 7 | Provo-Orem, UT | 603,309 | 3.1 |
| 8 | Punta Gorda, FL | 178,465 | 3 |
| 9 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 2,056,405 | 2.9 |
| 10 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 788,457 | 2.7 |
| 11 | Coeur d’Alene, ID | 154,311 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 666,149 | 2.6 |
| 13 | Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL | 151,563 | 2.6 |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | 1,302,946 | 2.5 |
| 15 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 2,441,257 | 2.5 |
| 16 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 465,208 | 2.4 |
| 17 | Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL | 365,136 | 2.4 |
| 18 | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 208,563 | 2.4 |
| 19 | Boise City, ID | 691,423 | 2.3 |
| 20 | Logan, UT-ID | 136,159 | 2.3 |
| 21 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 637,674 | 2.3 |
| 22 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO | 525,032 | 2.3 |
| 23 | Olympia-Tumwater, WA | 275,222 | 2.2 |
| 24 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 761,155 | 2.2 |
| 25 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 2,155,664 | 2.2 |
