SiteSeer's Look at the U.S. Cities with the Biggest Increase in Youth Population
If you’re a business that serves families with children, you’ve probably wondered: what areas in the United States are seeing the biggest increase in children? For our latest data study, we decided to take a look.
Below are top 30 cities that have seen an increase in children as a percentage of total population from 2015 to 2018. A few things to note:
- All of these cities have a population of over 50,000 people.
- We considered children as those between ages 0 and 17.
- Remember: we’re not measuring the increase in # of children, but rather, the increase in children as a percent of all population.
Starting from the bottom, here's the top 30 cities in the U.S. with a notable % jump in children this year--Santa is likely paying them a visit next week!
#30 – Fayetteville, AR
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 15,536 to 18,276)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 76,560 to 82,065
#29 – Ames, IA
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 9,420 to 10,667)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 62,042 to 63,913
#28 – Daytona Beach, FL
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 10,426 to 12,168)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 63,137 to 66,879
#27 – Bellingham, WA
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 12,688 to 14,893)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 76,808 to 81,824
#26 – Santa Cruz, CA
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 9,183 to 10,325)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 60,583 to 61,715
#25 – Missoula, MT
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 10% (from 13,115 to 15,015)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 67,019 to 69,497
#24 – University, FL
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 11% (from 13,187 to 15,359)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 76,757 to 80,796
#23 – Brookhaven, GA
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 11% (from 13,769 to 16,417)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 55,310 to 59,405
#22 – Boulder, CO
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 11% (from 15,722 to 17,511)
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 98,511 to 98,661
#21 – Waltham, MA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 62,258 to 63,317
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 11% (from 10,212 to 11,558)
#20 – Tempe, AZ
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 168,979 to 178,218
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 31,632 to 37,236)
#19 – Athens, GA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 119,653 to 125,771
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 23,270 to 27,337)
#18 – Seattle, WA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 657,709 to 714,541
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 123,712 to 150,371)
#17 – Royal Oak, MI
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 58,353 to 58,479
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 11,466 to 12,872)
#16 – Manhattan, KS
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 52,727 to 52,236
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 8,890 to 9,900)
#15 – College Station, TX
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 102,578 to 113,795
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 12% (from 18,033 to 22,495)
#14 – Berkeley, CA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 116,298 to 119,254
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 13% (from 17,194 to 19,957)
#13 – Gainesville, FL
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 125,843 to 130,957
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 14% (from 19,140 to 22,685)
#12 – Alexandria, VA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 149,905 to 160,432
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 14% (from 33,012 to 40,431)
#11 – Santa Monica, CA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 92,315 to 92,575
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 15% (from 16,601 to 19,163)
#10 – Bloomington, IN
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 83,483 to 87,243
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 15% (from 11,399 to 13,739)
*Though it ranked at no. 9 in greatest increase in children population, we excluded The Villages, Florida, from our list because it is a retirement community, and therefore, the numbers are misleading.*
#8 – Miami Beach, FL
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 84,919 to 87,413
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 16% (from 14,165 to 16,895)
#7 – Arlington, VA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 226,015 to 233,938
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 16% (from 47,114 to 56,537)
#6 – East Lansing, MI
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 49,721 to 51,005
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 17% (from 4,379 to 5,273)
#5 – San Francisco, CA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 846,203 to 885,883
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 18% (from 148,261 to 182,663)
#4 – West Lafayette, IN
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 47,070 to 50,290
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 18% (from 4,885 to 6,168)
#3 – Cambridge, MA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 109,426 to 114,987
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 20% (from 16,330 to 20,537)
#2 – Somerville, MA
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 78,345 to 80,309
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 24% (from 12,993 to 16,491)
#1 – Hoboken, NJ
- 2015-2018 overall population increase: from 52,018 to 54,107
- 2015-2018 kid increase as a % of all population: 29% (from 10,677 to 14,370)
The above indeed presents some interesting results. Thinking like a retailer, here’s a bit of analysis:
- Many of the cities above are college towns, and when you parse the numbers even more, it’s clear that almost all cities with the greatest increase in children under 5 (in the top 843 cities we captured) are college towns. Is this because college towns often have a great quality of life and economy, making them ideal for families? Although it is not clear why this trend emerged, it is intriguing…and something that retailers targeting families and children would be wise to research further.
- There are several metropolitan areas on the list, such as Seattle, WA, Miami, FL, and San Francisco, CA. Historically, big cities have had a lower population of children as couples flee to the suburbs to raise their children. It’s clear that in some cities, the opposite is true, with people choosing to stay in the city and raise their children there.
- The urbanization trend differs by age of child. In Idaho, Boise’s highest growth was in children ages 5-13, while neighboring Caldwell has the largest increase in the 14-17-year-old category. In Colorado, Denver had a 15% increase in children ages 14-17, while nearby Boulder’s population of the same age actually dropped by 5% (and the city saw a 22% increase in children ages 5-13). These figures beg the question: are larger cities more appealing with those who have young families, while mid-sized, suburban towns are more attractive to those whose children are a little older?
- The far-out suburbs are aging. Most of the top child-losers (not shown above) are suburbs furthest away from larger cities. Flower Mound, TX, for example, a suburb just over 30 miles from both Fort Worth and Dallas, saw a 17% decrease in child population. Weston, FL, which is about 23 miles from Fort Lauderdale and 40 miles from Miami, saw a 15% decrease. Do Millennials who are having children prefer being in the heart of it all over suburbs that are a drive from any notable downtown metro area?
As always, it’s important to let the data be your guide but do your own analysis as well. On-the-ground research is just as important as crunching the numbers and will help you understand the “why” behind some of what you see in your data reports.
Need a tool to help you analyze markets? Schedule a SiteSeer demo today to learn more about how our robust platform can help you make more intelligent, data-driven decisions.
Have an idea for our next study? Email us at support@siteseer.com. Data sourced from STI: PopStats
