Los Angeles County Posted Largest Population Decline Among Counties Last Year

The population in Los Angeles County and Cook County in Illinois continues on a downward trend.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 estimates, Los Angeles County experienced the largest population decline of all U.S. counties in 2022, falling by 90,704 people. This marks a decrease from last year when it lost almost double that amount (180,394).

Cook County, home to Chicago, also saw a decline of 68,314 people from July 2021 to July 2022.

Los Angeles County still holds the title for the most populous county in the U.S., followed by Cook County at 5,109,292, which declined by 68,314 from the prior year. The other three most populous counties are Harris County, Texas (4,780,913); Maricopa County, Arizona (4,551,524); and San Diego County, California (3,276,208).

Eight out of the top 10 most populous counties are located in the South and West. The remaining two are Cook County in Illinois and Kings County in New York.

The U.S Census Bureau noted that “Reflecting longstanding regional population shifts, the nation’s most populous counties are increasingly located in the South and West.”

Meanwhile, the 10 counties that gained the most people were in Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Maricopa County in Arizona saw the biggest population growth, adding 56,831 people in 2022. Harris County in Texas, Collin County in Texas, Denton County in Texas, and Polk County in Florida round out the top 5.

On the other hand, the biggest population decline occurred in counties, including Los Angeles County in California, Cook County in Illinois, Queens County in New York, Kings County in New York, and Bronx County in New York.

Although some urban counties experienced domestic outmigration between 2021 and 2022, the Census Bureau’s population division remarked, “the migration and growth patterns for counties edged closer to pre-pandemic levels this year.”

Deaths exceeded births in most U.S. counties last year, which resulted in a natural decrease in population. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of all U.S. counties had natural decrease in 2022, meaning they recorded more deaths than births.

Maine was the only state where all counties had natural decrease. West Virginia had 54 out of 55 counties with deaths outnumbering births, and seven out of the top 10 counties with the highest natural decrease were located in Florida. Pinellas County in Florida had the highest natural decrease with -6,468.

In contrast, 791 counties or 25.2% of all counties showed a natural increase in births exceeding deaths, with five of the top 10 counties in Texas, and Harris County seeing the highest natural increase in the nation with 30,117.

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