New Census estimates show slow Dayton-area growth

Dayton’s metro area had an estimated population of 806,548 last year, up a bit from 803,713 in 2017 and 801,765 in 2016, the Census says.

The latest Census estimate for the city of Dayton was 140,640 for 2018, up modestly, more than 200 residents, from 140,416 in 2017.

Montgomery County was estimated to have 532,331 residents in 2018, up slightly from 531,669 residents the year before, according to new Census numbers Thursday.

That’s the highest number for the county since 2014, when the population estimate was put at 532,469. In 2010, Montgomery County has 535,587 residents.

Warren County was estimated to have 232,173 residents last year, up from 228,859 in 2017.

Butler County saw an estimate of 382,378 residents in 2018, up slightly from 380,843 residents the year before.

The estimate for Greene County in 2018 was 167,995 residents, again a small increase from 166,779 in 2017.

For Miami County, the estimate was 106,222 residents, up again from 105,265 residents in 2017.

Among Ohio’s three “C” cities — Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati — only Cleveland lost residents, the estimates show. Cleveland’s population fell from an estimated 385,428 in 2017 to 383,793 last year.

The numbers are as of July 1, 2018.

Other area cities that saw some growth, according to the new numbers: Hamilton’s population was estimated to be 62,174 last year, up from 62,135 in 2017. Springboro’s population was put at 18,794 last year, up from 18,615 in 2017.

Huber Heights grew from 38,084 in 2017 to 38,174 last year, according to the Census.

Kettering, however, saw a drop, with a 2018 population that was put at 55,103 in 2018, down from 55,175 the previous year.

The South and West regions continue to have the fastest growth, the Census Bureau said. Among the 15 cities or towns with the largest gains from 2017 to 2018, eight were in the South, six were in the West, and one was in the Midwest.

Columbus, however, now has more residents within its borders than San Francisco, the Census said, 892,533 to 883,305, although the latter city’s metropolitan area is much bigger.