The results are largely negative and I guess that is the reason the news media and local politicians have pretty much ignored the results of the 2010 Census.  At least two of the results are historic:

–For the first time in history, a census showed a decline in Memphis’ population during a decade in which the city annexed territory and people.

–The outward movement of people from Memphis was so large that, when combined with the fact that many of these people left the county entirely, Shelby County overall had the lowest population increase since the 1870s, when yellow fever ravaged the area.

As far as I know, this second statistic has not shown up in any of the media outlets.

Over the decades, census figures make it clear that Memphis’ population would have dropped in many decades since 1900 if annexations had not occurred. The only other decline in population in the city since the 1870s was in the 1980s when no annexations were completed.

The census numbers show that between 2000 and 2010 Memphis annexed areas that had a 2000 Census count of 40,000 people.

Overall, Shelby County had 68,952 more births than deaths from 2000 through 2009. I think it can be reasonably assumed that at least 40,000 of those involved Memphis residents.

Memphis in 2000 had a population of 650,100. It annexed 40,000 people and had a birth-death increase of at least 40,000 but wound up the decade with 646,889 or 3,211 fewer people  than it started with.

It doesn’t take a math whiz to see that at least 80,000 more people moved out of Memphis than moved in. That is a big number. “Shattering” would be a good word to describe it.

Here is a breakdown on some of the statistics relating to the outflow:
–The 1870s gain was 2,053. The increase from 2000 to 2010 was 30,192. The 31,777 increase from 1910 to 1920 had been the lowest since the 1870s.

–The 1970 Census was the last federal decennial census to indicate that more people were moving into Shelby County than moving away.

The 2010 Census numbers do reflect significant increases in African American and other minority residents in DeSoto County and in Shelby County outside of Memphis.   Indications are that, in particular, the DeSoto growth involves many minorities in middle income households.

With the city elections coming up, candidates are going merrily about their ways without talking about people moving away from the city and county.  Maybe folks should recall that Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, who is seeking re-election was county mayor for most of the last decade when the outward flow of people reached a record high.  Seeking to reverse the outflow didn’t seem to be a priority for him during those years.

Politicians might cite increased economic development efforts, but it’s not likely that the revved up activities are going to affect the outmigration situation much.

Creation of new jobs is always a good thing for the economy of the area.  However, there is nothing that says many people hired into the new jobs  won’t choose to live outside Memphis and Shelby County because for whatever reason they don’t feel comfortable living in the city or county.

Memphis’ gaining the Grizzlies, building the FedEx Forum and granting millions in tax abatements over the last 10 or 15 years did not reverse the outward flow of people.  These activities do seem to be a plus for the community overall but about the only argument that can be made in connection with outmigration is that without these things, the record-setting outflow might have been even larger than it was.

The same thing might be said about the coming of Bass Pro and other developments in The Pyramid area.    Recently released census age breakdown figures show that countywide, the number of residents 50 and older increased about 55,000 over the decade. That is to be expected as the baby boomers grow older.   However, the population under age 50 dropped almost 25,000 despite the county’s recording almost 69,000 more births than deaths.

How large do the outward movement numbers have to become before politicians start taking them seriously?