With the sole exception of New Bedford, every large or mid-sized city in Massachusetts grew at least slightly from 2010 to 2012, according to new population estimates of cities with at least 50,000 people released last week. But none added people as quickly as Boston. The Census Bureau estimates that the Hub rose by 3.1 percent from its official 2010 count to hit 636,479 people. It further estimates that cities near Boston grew faster than those in other parts of the state.
Boston’s top ranking is not a surprise, given that the capital city has a stronger economy than the state as a whole. In March, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, and it was 11.3 percent in the New Bedford area, but it was 5.9 percent in metropolitan Boston, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The question is whether Boston’s faster growth will eventually spread to Gateway Cities — or leave smaller urban areas to try to find their own way in the New Economy.
The new estimate is still far below Boston’s record population of 801,444 (achieved in 1950), but it’s a sizable improvement over its modern low point (562,994 in 1980). It lends some credence to the idea that central cities are in a growth period; the Wall Street Journal reports that most major American cities grew faster than their suburbs in the latest Census estimates, though it quotes one demographer as suggesting that the slow economic recovery is “freezing” many inner-city residents in place.
Whatever the reason, proximity to Boston is almost a proxy for growth in these Census estimates. Except for Brockton and Quincy, all of the 15 Massachusetts cities within 30 miles of Boston rose by at least 1.0 percent from 2010 to 2012. But beyond 30 miles, none of the six Massachusetts cities of at least 50,000 rose by as much as 1.0 percent, and New Bedford fell by 0.2 percent. (Except for Connecticut cities on the New York commuter rail system, no municipality in the other five New England states hit 1.0 percent.)
Below are the 2010-12 growth rates for the 15 communities designated by the state as Gateway Cities and large enough to be included in the latest Census estimates. (Eleven Gateway Cities are too small; Holyoke and Pittsfield have both fallen below 50,000 since 1970.)
Brockton: up 0.3 percent to 94,094
Chicopee: up 0.3 percent to 55.490
Fall River: up 0.1 percent to 88,945
Haverhill: up 1.5 percent to 61,797
Lawrence: up 1.2 percent to 77,326
Lowell: up 1.9 percent to 108,522
Lynn: up 1.0 percent to 91,253
Malden: up 1.6 percent to 60,374
New Bedford: down 0.2 percent to 94,929
Peabody: up 1.2 percent to 51,867
Quincy: up 0.8 percent to 93,027
Revere: up 2.8 percent to 53,179
Springfield: up 0.3 percent to 153,522
Taunton: up 0.3 percent to 56,055
Worcester: up 0.9 percent to 182,699