County facts · Population change · October 23, 2026
US Counties Losing Population, 2020 to 2025
Which US counties lost residents from April 2020 to July 2025, the biggest and steepest declines, and the share in each state, from Census estimates.
Looking for US counties losing population? Of the 3,144 counties and county equivalents in the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates, 1,298 had fewer residents on July 1, 2025 than on April 1, 2020. The largest loss in people was in Los Angeles County, California (−322,480), and the steepest percentage decline was in King County, Texas (−26.7%).
In the most recent year, July 2024 to July 2025, 1,270 counties lost residents. Over the full period, 2,222 counties recorded more deaths than births, and when deaths outnumber births a county shrinks even if nobody moves away.
The 25 counties that lost the most people, 2020 to 2025
| # | County | State | Apr 2020 | Jul 2025 | Change | % change | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County | California | 10,017,414 | 9,694,934 | −322,480 | −3.2% | county web map |
| 2 | Cook County | Illinois | 5,279,010 | 5,194,625 | −84,385 | −1.6% | county web map |
| 3 | Kings County | New York | 2,736,291 | 2,653,963 | −82,328 | −3.0% | county web map |
| 4 | Bronx County | New York | 1,472,640 | 1,406,332 | −66,308 | −4.5% | county web map |
| 5 | San Francisco County | California | 878,550 | 826,079 | −52,471 | −6.0% | county web map |
| 6 | Queens County | New York | 2,405,427 | 2,358,182 | −47,245 | −2.0% | county web map |
| 7 | Alameda County | California | 1,682,246 | 1,636,630 | −45,616 | −2.7% | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 8 | Orange County | California | 3,187,279 | 3,149,507 | −37,772 | −1.2% | county web map |
| 9 | Cuyahoga County | Ohio | 1,264,772 | 1,232,925 | −31,847 | −2.5% | county web map |
| 10 | New York County | New York | 1,694,984 | 1,664,862 | −30,122 | −1.8% | county web map |
| 11 | Philadelphia County | Pennsylvania | 1,603,800 | 1,574,281 | −29,519 | −1.8% | county web map |
| 12 | Honolulu County | Hawaii | 1,016,504 | 988,703 | −27,801 | −2.7% | qPublic (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 13 | Allegheny County | Pennsylvania | 1,250,581 | 1,225,035 | −25,546 | −2.0% | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 14 | Wayne County | Michigan | 1,793,908 | 1,769,038 | −24,870 | −1.4% | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 15 | City of St. Louis | Missouri | 301,349 | 278,144 | −23,205 | −7.7% | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 16 | Orleans Parish | Louisiana | 384,129 | 362,154 | −21,975 | −5.7% | parish web map |
| 17 | Santa Clara County | California | 1,936,274 | 1,914,391 | −21,883 | −1.1% | county web map |
| 18 | San Mateo County | California | 764,508 | 743,568 | −20,940 | −2.7% | county web map |
| 19 | Multnomah County | Oregon | 815,400 | 795,391 | −20,009 | −2.5% | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 20 | Shelby County | Tennessee | 930,012 | 910,226 | −19,786 | −2.1% | county web map |
| 21 | San Diego County | California | 3,298,648 | 3,282,248 | −16,400 | −0.5% | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 22 | Hinds County | Mississippi | 227,748 | 211,888 | −15,860 | −7.0% | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 23 | Baltimore City | Maryland | 585,729 | 569,997 | −15,732 | −2.7% | Maryland FINDER Online (MD Dept. of Planning) |
| 24 | Milwaukee County | Wisconsin | 939,496 | 924,216 | −15,280 | −1.6% | county web map |
| 25 | Caddo Parish | Louisiana | 237,944 | 224,226 | −13,718 | −5.8% | no verified public viewer listed yet |
21 of these 25 had at least 500,000 residents in 2020: big counties can lose many people while changing only a few percent.
The 25 steepest declines by percent
| # | County | State | % change | Change | Jul 2025 | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | Texas | −26.7% | −70 | 192 | appraisal district map |
| 2 | Garza County | Texas | −22.4% | −1,305 | 4,510 | appraisal district map |
| 3 | Sharkey County | Mississippi | −18.5% | −705 | 3,097 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 4 | Reeves County | Texas | −17.7% | −2,605 | 12,138 | appraisal district map |
| 5 | Loving County | Texas | −16.1% | −10 | 52 | appraisal district map |
| 6 | Cameron Parish | Louisiana | −16.0% | −898 | 4,718 | no verified public viewer listed yet |
| 7 | Tallahatchie County | Mississippi | −14.5% | −1,839 | 10,877 | MARIS Mississippi Statewide Parcels map viewer |
| 8 | Jeff Davis County | Texas | −14.4% | −288 | 1,711 | appraisal district map |
| 9 | Yazoo County | Mississippi | −14.2% | −3,801 | 22,947 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 10 | Lassen County | California | −14.1% | −4,612 | 28,117 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 11 | Phillips County | Arkansas | −13.7% | −2,259 | 14,255 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 12 | Quitman County | Mississippi | −13.1% | −812 | 5,364 | MARIS Mississippi Statewide Parcels map viewer |
| 13 | Stewart County | Georgia | −12.8% | −682 | 4,631 | qPublic (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 14 | Perry County | Alabama | −12.8% | −1,087 | 7,425 | FlagshipGIS |
| 15 | Alexander County | Illinois | −12.8% | −669 | 4,570 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 16 | Howard County | Texas | −12.5% | −4,356 | 30,504 | appraisal district map |
| 17 | Desha County | Arkansas | −12.4% | −1,409 | 9,984 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 18 | Jackson County | Colorado | −12.2% | −169 | 1,211 | county web map |
| 19 | Claiborne County | Mississippi | −11.8% | −1,076 | 8,058 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 20 | Hertford County | North Carolina | −11.8% | −2,533 | 19,015 | ArcGIS Instant Apps |
| 21 | McDowell County | West Virginia | −11.7% | −2,245 | 16,878 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 22 | Madison Parish | Louisiana | −11.7% | −1,174 | 8,844 | no verified public viewer listed yet |
| 23 | Wilkinson County | Mississippi | −11.7% | −1,000 | 7,582 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 24 | Chattahoochee County | Georgia | −11.5% | −1,103 | 8,465 | qPublic (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 25 | Alpine County | California | −11.5% | −135 | 1,043 | ArcGIS |
Counties of 100,000+ that shrank fastest
| # | County | State | % change | Change | Jul 2025 | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of St. Louis | Missouri | −7.7% | −23,205 | 278,144 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 2 | Hinds County | Mississippi | −7.0% | −15,860 | 211,888 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 3 | San Francisco County | California | −6.0% | −52,471 | 826,079 | county web map |
| 4 | Caddo Parish | Louisiana | −5.8% | −13,718 | 224,226 | no verified public viewer listed yet |
| 5 | Orleans Parish | Louisiana | −5.7% | −21,975 | 362,154 | parish web map |
| 6 | Terrebonne Parish | Louisiana | −5.0% | −5,430 | 104,163 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 7 | Santa Cruz County | California | −4.9% | −13,311 | 258,852 | county web map |
| 8 | Kanawha County | West Virginia | −4.6% | −8,352 | 172,381 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 9 | Macon County | Illinois | −4.5% | −4,695 | 99,300 | listed link under review |
| 10 | Bronx County | New York | −4.5% | −66,308 | 1,406,332 | county web map |
| 11 | Fayette County | Pennsylvania | −4.5% | −5,799 | 123,021 | county web map |
| 12 | Jefferson County | New York | −4.4% | −5,170 | 111,540 | Beacon (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 13 | Calcasieu Parish | Louisiana | −3.8% | −8,312 | 208,466 | parish web map |
| 14 | Napa County | California | −3.7% | −5,074 | 132,949 | listed link under review |
| 15 | Humboldt County | California | −3.5% | −4,815 | 131,647 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
Why counties lose residents
The Census Bureau's components of change for the 10 counties that lost the most people (April 2020 to July 2025) show which forces were at work:
| County | Births minus deaths | Net domestic moves | Net international moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, California | +97,483 | −693,096 | +279,571 |
| Cook County, Illinois | +36,980 | −320,329 | +199,241 |
| Kings County, New York | +78,645 | −307,029 | +150,752 |
| Bronx County, New York | +27,672 | −201,834 | +107,043 |
| San Francisco County, California | +3,776 | −83,697 | +33,435 |
| Queens County, New York | +37,226 | −266,824 | +183,899 |
| Alameda County, California | +29,794 | −144,934 | +70,599 |
| Orange County, California | +36,400 | −148,505 | +74,388 |
| Cuyahoga County, Ohio | −9,804 | −44,210 | +22,509 |
| New York County, New York | +12,525 | −124,559 | +91,270 |
In all 10, more people moved out to other parts of the US than moved in. The components do not add up exactly to the total change because of a small residual in the estimates.
Share of counties losing residents, by state
| State | Counties that lost residents | Counties | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 47 | 55 | 85% |
| Illinois | 84 | 102 | 82% |
| Kansas | 83 | 105 | 79% |
| Louisiana | 50 | 64 | 78% |
| Alaska | 21 | 30 | 70% |
| New Mexico | 23 | 33 | 70% |
| North Dakota | 36 | 53 | 68% |
| Iowa | 66 | 99 | 67% |
| New York | 41 | 62 | 66% |
| Mississippi | 53 | 82 | 65% |
| California | 36 | 58 | 62% |
| Pennsylvania | 41 | 67 | 61% |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 5 | 60% |
| Ohio | 49 | 88 | 56% |
| Nebraska | 50 | 93 | 54% |
| Alabama | 34 | 67 | 51% |
| Arkansas | 38 | 75 | 51% |
| Oregon | 15 | 36 | 42% |
| Oklahoma | 32 | 77 | 42% |
| Nevada | 7 | 17 | 41% |
| Minnesota | 35 | 87 | 40% |
| Hawaii | 2 | 5 | 40% |
| South Dakota | 26 | 66 | 39% |
| Kentucky | 47 | 120 | 39% |
| Colorado | 24 | 64 | 38% |
| Montana | 20 | 56 | 36% |
| Vermont | 5 | 14 | 36% |
| Virginia | 45 | 133 | 34% |
| Missouri | 38 | 115 | 33% |
| Michigan | 27 | 83 | 33% |
| Texas | 82 | 254 | 32% |
| South Carolina | 14 | 46 | 30% |
| Massachusetts | 4 | 14 | 29% |
| Wyoming | 6 | 23 | 26% |
| Wisconsin | 18 | 72 | 25% |
| Georgia | 37 | 159 | 23% |
| Indiana | 20 | 92 | 22% |
| Arizona | 3 | 15 | 20% |
| Maryland | 4 | 24 | 17% |
| North Carolina | 14 | 100 | 14% |
| Tennessee | 8 | 95 | 8% |
| Maine | 1 | 16 | 6% |
| Florida | 4 | 67 | 6% |
| Washington | 2 | 39 | 5% |
| New Jersey | 1 | 21 | 5% |
| Utah | 1 | 29 | 3% |
| Idaho | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| Connecticut | 0 | 9 | 0% |
| Delaware | 0 | 3 | 0% |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 10 | 0% |
The District of Columbia is a single county equivalent and is left out of the state table. Connecticut appears by planning region: since 2022 the Census Bureau uses its 9 planning regions instead of its 8 historic counties, and Platbookmapper's county pages still follow the historic counties, so those rows have no parcel-viewer link.
What a shrinking county means for a land search
- Fewer buyers, slower sales. Population loss usually means fewer people looking for land, so a listing can sit longer. Check the county's own sales records rather than relying on statewide trends.
- Vacant and tax-forfeited parcels. Shrinking counties often have more vacant lots and tax-sale parcels. The county treasurer or tax office publishes sale lists; the parcel viewer shows where each one is.
- Records are still local. Even a small county keeps its own deeds, plats and tax maps, so use its official parcel viewer and recorder for anything you plan to buy.
- One number, one period. These are estimates for April 2020 to July 2025. A county that lost residents over the period can still be growing in a particular town or along a highway.
Related guides
- Fastest growing counties in the US
- Least populated counties in the US
- How many counties are in the US
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2025 (April 1, 2020 estimates base and July 1, 2020–2025 estimates, with components of change). 50 states and the District of Columbia; Puerto Rico's municipios are not included.
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 23, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.