Orleans shows among largest population declines in NYS since 2020

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2024 at 8:44 am

Orleans County’s population is down 1,233 people since the April 2020 census, a decline of 3.06 percent which is among the steepest losses of 62 counties in the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau this week released its population estimates for July 2023 and Orleans County is at 39,124. That compares to 40,343 in 2020. (The loss is 1,219 people, but a Census Bureau chart shows 1,233 loss in the three-plus years.)

Since the 2010 census, when Orleans had 42,883 people, the county is down by 3,759 resident, a drop of 8.77 percent.

The rate of decline is slowing down. Orleans lost 828 people from the census in April 2020 to the estimate in July 2021, then fell another 352 people to July 2022, and then 39 more to July 2023.

The percentage of loss in Orleans from 2020 to 2023 at 3.06 percent ranks 56th out of the 62 counties in the state for growth.

Four of the five boroughs in NYC topped Orleans for percentage of population loss with New York County (Manhattan) at 59th (-5.71%), Queens County (Queens) at 60th (-6.37%), Kings County (Brooklyn) at 61st (-6.39%) and Bronx County (Bronx) at 62nd (-7.89%).

Outside of New York City, only Chemung with a loss of 3.35 percent (57th ranked county for growth) and Seneca at a 4.34 percent loss (58th) rated lower than Orleans.

Only 15 out of the 62 counties gained population since the 2020 census. Otsego County had the largest percent gain at 2.73 percent, increasing by 1,598 people in the three years to 60,126 in the 2023 estimate.

In Orleans the natural increase, number of deaths versus births, was 301 more deaths than birth from 2020 to 2023, a negative 0.75 percent per 1,000 people, which ranked 38th out of the 62 counties.

Rockland County was ranked first in natural increase at a positive 3.34 percent with 11,317 more births than deaths in the three years. Hamilton County was ranked last in “natural increase” at a negative 3.23 percent.

Here is a snapshot of the population changes among the four rural GLOW counties, and New York State as a whole:

Genesee County (down 859 people or 1.47% since 2020)