There may be no place like home, but fewer people in our area are calling our area's communities "home."

The U.S. Census Bureau has just released its 2016 population estimates, and they show that three of the five area counties - Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe - have lost population since the official census in 2010. Lehigh has shown a sharp gain, while Northampton posted a modest uptick.Carbon's population dropped from 65,249 to 63,594, a 2.5 percent loss; Schuylkill's population was down from 148,289 to 143,573, a decrease of 3.2 percent, and Monroe's was down 2.2 percent, from 169,842 to 166,098.The loss in Monroe is in striking contrast to its growth in the 1980s and '90s, when for years it was the second fasting-growing county in the state, next only to another Pocono growth area, Pike County.Even Monroe's once-vibrant West End townships showed decreases, ranging from 3 percent in Eldred to 3.3 percent in Ross. This population loss has caused a drop in enrollment in the Pleasant Valley School District, which is resulting in the trimming of staff and reshuffling of administrators.Lehigh showed one of the biggest population gains in the state over the six-year period with a 3.9 percent increase, from 349,497 to 363,147; Northampton County gained 1.5 percent, from 297,735 to 302,294.Of the 23 municipalities in Carbon County, 20 have lost population, while just three showed gains. Even those gains were muted. Penn Forest Township posted a 0.7 percent increase; Packer Township tacked on a four-person or 0.4 percent gain, while Kidder Township added five, a 0.2 percent increase.The Carbon losses ranged from 1.5 percent in Towamensing Township to 6.4 percent in Bowmanstown. Other communities which experienced a loss of 4 percent or more were: Lehighton, 4.1 percent; Lansford, 4.4 percent; Banks Township, 4.8 percent; Weissport, 5.6 percent, and East Side Borough, 5.7 percent.Every Schuylkill County municipality in our area, including Tamaqua, Coaldale and Walker, West Penn, Rush and Schuylkill townships, showed losses, ranging from 2.1 percent in West Penn Township to 4.4 percent in Tamaqua.Big winners were in Lehigh County's rural townships that make up part of the Northwestern Lehigh School District - Weisenberg Township gained 4.5 percent, Lynn was up 2.8 percent and Heidelberg added 2.4 percent.Slatington in Lehigh County posted a 1.2 percent gain, and Washington Township added 2.1 percent, while in Northampton County, Walnutport had a 0.5 percent increase, but Lehigh Township was down 1 percent."Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S. region," said Amel Toukabri, a demographer in the Census Bureau's population division. "Since the 2010 Census, the population in large southern cities grew by an average of 9.4 percent. In comparison, cities in the West grew 7.3 percent; the Midwest by 3 percent, and the Northeast had the lowest growth - just 1.8 percent - he said.So why is the Northeast, including our area, losing population? First of all, our residents are aging, and the birthrate is not keeping up. Many younger people leave the area for college and never come back. The lack of good-paying jobs and a fairly stagnant economy team up to be a deterrent to those who might want to return home after getting their education. Some retired residents opt for warmer climates and have added to the population growth in such states as Florida, Arizona, California and the Carolinas.If it were not for legal immigration, the populations of Pennsylvania, New York and several other contiguous states would have been considerably lower in 2016, the Census Bureau said.Some of the other census' key findings:• New York remains America's largest city by a wide margin. Its July 1, 2016, population of 8.5 million makes it more than twice as large as the next largest city, Los Angeles.• Despite a population loss of 8,600, Chicago remains the nation's third-largest city.• Phoenix had the largest numeric increase of any city, by adding 32,113 (about 88 people per day) between 2015 and 2016, supplanting Philadelphia as the fifth-largest city. The City of Brotherly Love dropped to sixth place but remains the largest in Pennsylvania by a wide margin over number two Pittsburgh. Allentown is the state's third-largest city.• The population of small communities in the Northeast declined by 0.5 percent; they were down by 0.3 percent in the Midwest, but small towns grew by 0.3 percent in the South and by 0.8 percent in the West.• Four of the five fastest-growing cities are in Texas; the other is Greenville, South Carolina.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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