OHIO — Department of Development officials are projecting that the state of Ohio is in the beginning stages of a long-term population decline, according to a new report, however several counties in the Miami Valley are expected to grow.
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The department predicts that 675,000 will leave the state by 2050.
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The gradual decrease in residents is due to slow migration patterns, an aging population and declining fertility rates, according to the report.
From 2020 to 2050, department officials project that the population will decrease by 5.7%, or approximately 675,552 people.
The report states the population began decreasing in 2020 because of a “sharp increase in mortality” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ohio saw a record number of resident deaths in 2020 at 143,000. That number increased again in 2021 with 147,500 deaths.
“However, the declining fertility rate and the aging of the population have occurred over the longer term, so the record number of Ohio resident deaths in 2020 and in 2021 have simply accelerated the timetable – and likely the magnitude – of expected population losses,” the report states.
A map provided by the Department of Development projects that Clark, Preble, and Darke counties will see the greatest population decline in the Miami Valley.
Warren, Greene, and Miami counties are projected to see the biggest population growth.
According to NBC-4 TV, population loss can affect Ohio in several ways, including reducing government services and city maintenance, and lower city and state tax collections.
Ohio gained approximately 60,000 people through domestic and international migration in the 2010s, making it the first decade since the 1950s where more people moved in instead of out.
According to the report, Ohio is the seventh-most populated state, but the Department of Development predicts Georgia and North Carolina will surpass the Buckeye State by 2030.
“Ohio is expected to remain the ninth most populous state for many years beyond the scope of these projections,” the report reads.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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