Philly shows signs of slowing population growth, drops in national ranking

Philadelphia is the seventh-most-populous area in the United States thanks to a continued slow population growth rate, Curbed Philly reported.

The ranking is based on a report from the U.S. Census Bureau that determined the City of Brotherly Love fell below the Washington metropolitan area, which ranked sixth this year.

“From July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015, Philadelphia experienced a total population change of 5,880. Compare that to the DC metro region, which increased its population by 63,793 in one year,” Curbed Philly said.

This does not mean the city has stopped growing, as Philly.com explained.

“Numbers show Philadelphia is still growing. But its drop in rank isn’t arbitrary: It is symptomatic of a region that continues to struggle with high taxes, a city school system in chaos, and industries that aren’t hiring at the rates they did in the region’s heydays,” Philly.com reported.

Any growth the city has seen, Philly.com said, is mosty due to an influx of immigrants that countered the exodus of residents that the city has seen.

Additionally, though the city is often marketed as a more affordable urban destination for millennials, and gentrification begins to spread through certain parts of the city, concern remains whether the young people will come and if they do, if they’ll stay and start families, Philly.com said.