California, Illinois and New York are home to the counties with the largest population declines in 2022. The city of Los Angeles recorded the largest loss of inhabitants in the country (-90,704 people), according to Census Bureau estimates.
Cook County (Illinois) lost 68,314 people from July 2021 to July 2022. Followed by Queens, NY (-50,112); Kings, NY (-46,970); and the Bronx, NY (-41,143).
Counties that gained the most inhabitants
The counties that gained the most population were also detailed by the bureau. Maricopa County in Arizona topped the growth list, adding 56,831 people in 2022. It was followed by Harris County, Texas (+45,626); Collin, Texas (+44,246); Denton, Texas (+33,424); and Polk, Florida (+32,225).
Christine Hartley, assistant chief of the estimates and projections division in the Census Bureau's population division, indicated that some counties "such as Dallas and San Francisco experienced internal migration at a slower rate between 2021 and 2022, compared to the previous year."
The most populated counties
Census Bureau data also indicated that eight of the ten most populous counties are located in the South and West. The only two exceptions are Cook County in Illinois and Kings County in New York.
Reflecting long-standing regional demographic shifts, the nation's most populous counties are increasingly located in the South and West (...) In 2022, 63 of the nation's 100 most populous counties were located in the South and West, up from 61 the previous year.
In terms of ranking, Los Angeles remains the city with the most inhabitants followed by Cook (Illinois) with 5,109,292. Rounding out the top five are: Harris, Texas (4,780,913); Maricopa, Arizona (4,551,524); and San Diego, California (3,276,208).
Mortality exceeds birth rate
The number of deaths exceeded the number of births in almost the entire country. About three-quarters of all counties had a declining birth rate in 2022. According to the office:
The incidence of natural decline remains historically high (...) Natural decline counties are found throughout the country but are especially prevalent in some states.
Births exceeded deaths in 791 counties (or 25.2%). Five of the top ten counties where births outnumbered deaths were in Texas. Harris County had the highest in the nation with 30,117 births.
