St. Louis' foreign-born population increases amid overall decline

(from the St. Louis Business Journal)

The number of people living in the St. Louis metro area declined last year, but the foreign-born population in the region increased by 30,106, according to population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The foreign-born increase from 129,604 in 2022 to 159,710 last year was a 23.2% jump -- ranking first among the nation's 30 largest metro areas, according to an analysis by Saint Louis University demographer Ness Sandoval. By comparison, the region's foreign-born population in 2014 was 118,936.

"We need to do 10 years of consecutive growth like this and then you'll see the total growth in the region turn around. Then we can open up the bottle of champagne and celebrate," said Sandoval, a SLU professor of sociology.

The Latino population in the St. Louis metro area increased from 96,470 in 2022 to 110,391 last year - a 14.4% climb, which ranked fourth highest by percentage of the nation's 30 largest metro areas, Sandoval said. He cited the Mosaic Project's STL Para Ti - "for you" in Spanish - to interest Latinos in moving to the St. Louis region and the International Institute's Latino Outreach Program as contributors to the increase.

"Some of it is through immigration, but some of it is American-born Latinos coming to (St. Louis)," said Sandoval, who added that the Census Bureau plans to release more detailed data in October.

In a statement, Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc., the region's lead economic development agency, said: "These numbers show that the focused and intentional work taking place to make our metro a destination for immigrants is paying major dividends." St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones added in a statement: "Our City's strength is in our diversity and the communities that we create when we open our arms to New Americans."

Estimated figures released in March showed that the overall population of the 15-county region declined from 2,800,245 in 2022 to 2,796,999 last year - a 0.11% drop. Both the Charlotte, North Carolina, and Orlando, Florida, regions surpassed St. Louis, dropping it to the 23rd-largest U.S. metro by population, down from 21st.

Sandoval noted that the number of foreign-born residents in the region is small compared with others metro areas nationwide. The math of those low numbers in the St. Louis area explains why the percentage increase over 2022 was the highest among the nation's 30 largest metro areas, said Sandoval, a SLU professor of sociology.

The Latino population in the St. Louis metro now stands at 3.9%, compared with 3.4% in 2022. The percentages in the Charlotte and Orlando regions - which both overtook the St. Louis metro in population last year - were at 12.6% and 33.4% respectively last year.

Sandoval's analysis also found that the Black population in St. Louis city continues to decline, along with smaller decreases in the white non-Hispanic population. The number of Black city residents dropped from 120,305 in 2022 to 113,461 last year - a 5.7% decline, according to the Census Bureau estimates. The decline was 1.4% for whites, from 128,817 in 2022 to 126,985 in 2023.

"For the first time in recent years, the overall Black/African American population across the entire metro area showed no loss. Although there was a slight increase, it falls within the margin of error, suggesting stability," Sandoval wrote.

The region's population of Black residents was 463,850 in 2022 and 466,739 last year, according to the Census Bureau estimates.

Sandoval also noted that the St. Louis region from 2022 to 2023 saw 1,517 more deaths than births, as well as negative migration of 1,747 - international migration totaled 3,856, but domestic migration was -5,603.

"Despite all this good news, we still have an out-migration problem for the region," he said.

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