![]() ![]() The loss of steel jobs has been cited as a major reason for the 6.1% decline in the ninth metropolitan community on the list, which is here in the Ohio Valley: the Steubenville-Weirton area. ![]() In addition, money from the American Rescue Plan can help us build infrastructure that will encourage population growth.”Ī targeted effort in recent decades accepts a shift away from reliance on the coal and steel industries as the driving economic force and biggest employers in the region’s communities. “Offering incentives, like we are doing with the Charleston Roots initiative, is encouraging folks who lived here previously or grew up here to come back home and attracting others to plant roots in our Capital City. “One thing the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us is that people can work remotely from anywhere,” Goodwin, a Wheeling native, noted. Many communities are looking to take advantage of the emerging trends and to highlight the assets they can boast. ![]() Goodwin said some silver linings have come to light over the past year as communities faced unprecedented challenges through a global health crisis. “While it isn’t a surprise, it’s a trend the city is working to reverse.” “Population decline is not unique to Charleston - it’s affecting cities throughout our state,” Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said. another formerly bustling steel town - came in fifth on the list of fastest shrinking communities in the nation, with the metro area of Charleston, W.Va., appearing in sixth place with a rate of decline of 6.9%. Likewise, coal has been an economic backbone of the Ohio Valley and other Rust Belt regions of the country, but the heyday of coal is set further in the past as pressure continues in the wake of an ongoing push for more green energy.Īmong the fastest shrinking communities, the metropolitan area around Cumberland, Maryland - which includes portions of West Virginia - ranked third on the list, followed by the Beckley, W.Va., metro area, with a 7.9% decrease in population.Īccording to the 2020 Census, the community of Johnstown, Pa. Loss of a booming steel industry over the decades has been attributed to the decline in many of these shrinking cities, including those in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. Reports cite these area’s dependency on dwindling industrial and manufacturing jobs as the primary cause for the significant drops in population. Topping the list of fastest shrinking cities in America was Pine Bluff, Arkansas, followed by Danville, Illinois. Census data, the report showed that half of those rapidly dwindling metropolitan areas were inside or included parts of West Virginia. Last week a report by national media outlet The Hill listed the 10 fastest shrinking cities in America. Census data released earlier this year showed that West Virginia lost a higher percentage of its population than any other state in the nation. Census come into focus, the figures for the Mountain State paint a dismal picture from many angles. ![]()
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