Mayor Jones Pulls Back On Growing Population Claim
Pictures from candidates’ campaign websites
At a recent candidate forum, Mayor Jones was quoted as saying the city “has turned the corner” and “is growing again”. According to St. Louis Magazine, she credited an increase in immigrants moving to the city as the driver of this supposed population growth. While city voters would welcome news that the city had actually reversed our sliding population numbers, this does not appear to be supported by census data. As previously reported, the most recent American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that St. Louis’s population continues to decline. The Post-Dispatch’s reporting on the forum also noted Mayor Jones’ claim of city population growth, though they noted a lack of evidence.
When asked for clarification, mayoral spokesperson Connor Kerrigan suggested the mayor’s remarks were meant to be more general. “It’s my understanding that the Mayor was saying that we are turning a corner on population decline, not necessarily that the city’s population is increasing,” Kerrigan emailed in response. On the issue of increasing numbers of immigrants locating in the city, Kerrigan stated “In St. Louis City specifically, the relocation of people who lived abroad one-year prior to the survey increased notably from 1,709 in 2022 to 2,926 in 2023, a year over year growth of 71%, showing that the city welcomed a higher number of immigrants in 2023 than in 2022.”
Despite the city’s rising immigrant population, the city’s overall population decline persists. During the same period cited by the mayor’s office, census data shows a net loss of 4,824 residents. Census data shows that this was primarily driven by a loss of Black residents.
The mayor’s opponents seized on her comments, framing them as evidence that she is out of touch with the realities of the city’s challenges. Alderman Cara Spencer, one of Jones’s challengers in the upcoming spring election, stated, “Recognizing that our population is our tax base, I’ve been monitoring those numbers closely. Unfortunately, not only are they heading in the wrong direction, but the population loss is occurring at a faster rate than in recent years.”
Similarly, Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler criticized the mayor’s remarks, saying, “It is becoming painfully obvious that Tishaura is out of touch—on crime, homelessness, snow removal, and now even on the population of our city.”
Mayor Jones appears to be stepping back from claims of city population growth. At Monday night’s Ellendale Neighborhood Association candidate forum, she adjusted her stump speech to focus on the increase in the immigrant population, avoiding any specific mention of overall population growth. Later in the forum, Jones acknowledged the city’s multi-decade trend of population decline but expressed optimism, stating, “St. Louis is on the cusp of growth, of exponential growth.”
Disclosure: Author has worked for both Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler and Alderman Cara Spencer on past campaigns.
