Are The People in Pittsburgh finding What they Want in Their City ? (live in)

[Lakeshorestateofmind92]

As a Midwesterner myself. I've always been curious about
Pittsburgh.It seems to have done a 180. One of its most notable feats was reinventing its economy. It seems some cities make vast improvements and they see positive results however it seems people are steady leaving the city which is shown in the population decline. Also admitting i don't know that much about the city or even its metro, what is the city still not providing ?

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by Lakeshorestateofmind92

As a Midwesterner myself. I've always been curious about
Pittsburgh.It seems to have done a 180. One of its most notable feats was reinventing its economy. It seems some cities make vast improvements and they see positive results however it seems people are steady leaving the city which is shown in the population decline. Also admitting i don't know that much about the city or even its metro, what is the city still not providing ?

Someone who cares more is going to roll out real stats, but some of the population decline can be accounted for by the sizable older population who are dying off, and less people actively moving away.

[Lakeshorestateofmind92]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Someone who cares more is going to roll out real stats, but some of the population decline can be accounted for by the sizable older population who are dying off, and less people actively moving away.

Okay so it sounds like it has a large older population. Its not that many people are moving away its just the population it has retained are dying. It just seems to me the city is getting the short end of the stick. What can the city do more of or start to do to attract young people ?
Besides the nice skyline and the retail offered in downtown, its surrounded by nice scenery.

[qwerty01]

Hi Lakeshore and thanks for your interest in our city. The best answer to your question is quite complex with many nuances, so it is difficult to articulate accurately over a message forum but I'll do my best. Please others feel free to add in for any gaps that I leave.

Pittsburgh lost a significant percentage of its population in the 80s and 90s, mostly from Generation X. Those individuals, many of whom were just starting their careers, marriages, and adding little ones to their families, moved to other cities for better job opportunities and therefore contributed to population growth in those areas. As a result, Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located in PA) became one of the oldest (by age) counties in the US. Over the last decade, Pittsburgh has largely (not completely I know) stabilized its population with an influx of mainly millennials moving into the city and therefore leaving Pittsburgh with an age curve that is quite unique and not the traditional bell curve as desired. As the older population in Allegheny County continues to move on, the city is replacing them at about an even clip with new migrants (mainly domestic) combined with a somewhat but still relatively low natural fertility rate. I expect that over the next decade Pittsburgh will plateau in population and then slowly rise again starting around 2030.

So to answer your question more directly (message forum rules haha), I don't think the city itself it contributing in any one major area to a loss of population, but on the contrary is attracting new citizens. The population loss is a result of an older generation passing away vice a substantial portion of the population moving out of the metro area. (yes, yes I know people still move away, and yes I know Pittsburgh could be better and should do better to attract talent, but on a message forum I'm speaking in (sometimes unfair) generalities).

Does that help?

[Lakeshorestateofmind92]

Originally Posted by qwerty01

Hi Lakeshore and thanks for your interest in our city. The best answer to your question is quite complex with many nuances, so it is difficult to articulate accurately over a message forum but I'll do my best. Please others feel free to add in for any gaps that I leave.

Pittsburgh lost a significant percentage of its population in the 80s and 90s, mostly from Generation X. Those individuals, many of whom were just starting their careers, marriages, and adding little ones to their families, moved to other cities for better job opportunities and therefore contributed to population growth in those areas. As a result, Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located in PA) became one of the oldest (by age) counties in the US. Over the last decade, Pittsburgh has largely (not completely I know) stabilized its population with an influx of mainly millennials moving into the city and therefore leaving Pittsburgh with an age curve that is quite unique and not the traditional bell curve as desired. As the older population in Allegheny County continues to move on, the city is replacing them at about an even clip with new migrants (mainly domestic) combined with a somewhat but still relatively low natural fertility rate. I expect that over the next decade Pittsburgh will plateau in population and then slowly rise again starting around 2030.

So to answer your question more directly (message forum rules haha), I don't think the city itself it contributing in any one major area to a loss of population, but on the contrary is attracting new citizens. The population loss is a result of an older generation passing away vice a substantial portion of the population moving out of the metro area. (yes, yes I know people still move away, and yes I know Pittsburgh could be better and should do better to attract talent, but on a message forum I'm speaking in (sometimes unfair) generalities).

Does that help?

Yes %100
So basically it'll just take a while for it to bloom. I appreciate you taking the time to accurately explain. Unfortunately that's still a problem but I find it a rather unique problem.

[qwerty01]

Good, I'm glad that was helpful.

I'm not and do not ever claim to be an expert, but my projection for Pittsburgh's population trend will look something like this:

2010-2025 - Population stabilizes as Millennials move into the city and start families while older Silent Generation and older Boomers pass on.

2025-2040 - Population growth in Pittsburgh increases as Generation Z moves into the city at a somewhat slower rate than Millennials, but is offset by an unusual and almost "artificially" low, natural death rate in the area. This will be due to the relatively low amount (by proportion nationally) of younger Boomers and older Generation X that still live in the area passing (or should say not here to be passing) away.

So in summary, ironically the main reason that Pittsburgh's population is not increasing today (due to its large older generational divide) will likely be the reason Pittsburgh will grow in the future (as I think it will transition into one of the youngest counties (Allegheny) in the country. And wow, what a ride the city has and will be on! I think that the 100 year population trend in Pittsburgh from 1950-2050 will end up being one absolutely fantastic study for academia in the future.