St. Louis Now One of the Fastest Shrinking Cities in America

There's new data that shows where the fastest growing cities in America are, but inside of that is also a stunning revelation about how St. Louis has become the opposite of that. It's not exactly a mystery why so many are now leaving the Gateway City.

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The website Florida Panhandle just revealed the top 25 fastest growing cities and you'll see some expected destinations including many Texas and Florida towns. Buried within that is a graph which shows which metro areas are heading the opposite direction. Notice that St. Louis is now showing the 2nd greatest loss of population in America.

There are many that claim that the media (yes, that's us also) are blowing up FBI data to try and make St. Louis look more dangerous than it is. Explore St. Louis made that case and (for the record), I did also. The point I was trying to make at the time is you'll see/hear media outlets make it sound like murder waits on every corner in St. Louis while my family has never felt "in danger" there ever.

However, describing St. Louis as a crime-ridden metro area is accurate at least in some areas. When it comes to where people choose to make their home (or leave), the kind of data shared by the FBI is valid. I was once told that perception is reality and I believe that applies here. If a majority of the country believes that St. Louis is the headquarters for danger, they'll choose to live somewhere else. That now seems to be true now more than ever...whether it really represents real life in St. Louis or not.