UCity Population Declines By 5.5 Percent Since 2000 According to U.S. Census

The University City population dropped about 5.5 percent since 2000, according to the 2010 data released nformation released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census data shows U-City’s population at 37,428 in 2000 and 35,371 in 2010, a drop of 2,057. The population loss dropped University City from the 16^th largest to the 18^th largest city in the state.

City Manager Lehman Walker said the population decline would have a negative affect on University City's budget.

"So much of our revenue is dependent upon sales tax, which is related to population," Walker said. "The decline in population will affect us significantly."

University City is a "pool city." In St. Louis County, portions of each municipality the  sales tax receipts are pooled and redistributed based on population. The higher the population, the more revenue the city receives.

"What is interesting is that the number of housing units went up because we replaced some single family units with multi-family units," Walker said. "So the population decline is related to a smaller household size. Instead of four or five people in a household, there's one or two."

Meanwhile, Florissant fell from No. 10 to No. 12 in that category despite gaining roughly 1,600 residents between 2000 and 2010. That represents growth of 3.3 percent.

Chesterfield also fell, from No. 12 to No. 14. It gained nearly 700 residents between 2000 and 2010,  an increase of 1.5 percent.

Overall, St. Louis County's population has declined by 1.7 percent since 2000, the Census Bureau stated Thursday in a news release.

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley will be commenting on the census numbers once he and his staff are able to review the numbers, spokesman Mac Scott said Thursday afternoon.

"We really haven't had a chance to sit down with him and kind of go over these numbers," Scott said.

While a population decline of less than 2 percent is within the margin of error, Scott said, it's a figure that still must be looked at. And he said an even larger population decline in the city of St. Louis is of concern to the county.

University City Patch will post more information from the Census Bureau as it becomes available. Additional data are expected to be posted to the American FactFinder Web site by Friday afternoon.