Friends, join me Wednesday morning at 8:11 AM on KMOX, where I’ll be discussing the demographic hurdles facing our region. The next 50 years will look nothing like the last 50. Educate yourself—and get ahead of the demographic curve and find out why STL is on the same path as Pittsburgh.

The 2024 ACS population pyramid for Saint Louis City. Ya, that is not good.

Here is the state wide map for SNAP. If you click on a census tract. you will see that attribute table show up. SNAP 18 is in proportions but that is the percent of SNAP households that have children under 18. slustl.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant...

Breaking Demographic News The total fertility rate (TFR) for the seven county St. Louis metro area, where age of mother data is available, is currently 1.4, well below the replacement level of 2.1. The total fertility rate for the United States in 2024 was about 1.6 children per woman.

When you lead the state in the % of households receiving SNAP, you can’t afford to be reactive. Major cities across the country were at least a week ahead in developing programs to feed their residents. The program launched last Friday is a step in the right direction, the city needs a plan.

List of major cities that have household receiving SNAP St. Louis - 18.7% St. Joseph - 13.4% Independence 12.9% Springfield - 12% Kansas City - 10.5% St. Charles, 7.7% Columbia 5.8% O'Fallon 5.0% Lee's Summit - 3.3%

I received many requests for a SNAP map, here’s an interactive map of households receiving SNAP benefits (ACS 2023 5-Year). You can toggle categories on/off using the interactive legend. The data are mapped using a quantile distribution. slustl.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant...

Saint Louis City sets up program for it residents www.ksdk.com/article/news...

We have one - I used to use it when I worked on farms that still had extra produce to donate after our weekly donations.. stlfoodbank.org/find-food/pa...

St. Louis County's biggest election tonight was Proposition S in Rockwood School District, which would have raised its tax levy by 45 cents per $100 of assessed valuation-from approximately $3.7426/$100 to $4.1926/$100. With all polls closed, it was defeated by just 497 votes.

Someone said me that converting a park into a parking lot is the kind of decision rooted in fear, not imagination, a move you’d expect from a baby boomer clinging to the past rather than building a city for the young. This student made a point.

Just a reminder the words poverty, food insecurity does not exist in this report and the word poor is mention one time "poor administration."

We do have leaders that care about the common good and poor. Community Food Drive What: Drive-thru donation event for nonperishable food and personal care items. When: Saturday, Nov. 8, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Where: The District STL, east end of the parking lot, 17057 N. Outer 40 Rd., Chesterfield.

"In the past week, schools, businesses and organizations big and small from across the St. Louis region are organizing food drives, donating proceeds from sales and offering volunteers to prepare for the loss of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beginning Saturday."

Detroit will open up 100 food distribution sites across the city

The party of "destroy regulations" could, I dunno, maybe start with abolishing this nonsense.

Jefferson County Colorado Jefferson County is taking action to support residents affected by continued delays in the release of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

“The city of Cleveland will not stand by while our residents face hunger,” added Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb. “This partnership shows the power of swift, collective action to ensure every Clevelander has access to basic necessities.”

This is an easy veto if you have a vision for the City.

Leaders face a choice: to act or to react. Those who react chase problems, driven by fear or circumstance. Those who act lead with vision, grounded in the common good of the city’s residents. Leaders who act create solutions that serve everyone and help every community thrive with dignity. My $.02.

Detroit has set up an emergency food distribution program for its residents today. I have heard some people say that St. Louis City wants to be like Detroit. Has the Mayor announced that her office has created an emergency food bank for city residents? Actions are more important than words !

The trends show that STL City is entering a period of quiet but deep change. Among Black residents, more people are dying than babies born to Black mothers. When the 2024 death records are released, it is expected that the same will be true for White residents.

It has become clear that the city will not achieve a transformative “wow” moment. Instead, the city will continue to operate in a way that only serves half of the population, leaving the rest without meaningful benefit. There Is No Common Good Driving Most of New Policy Initiatives.

A must read on Data Centers www.distilled.earth/p/these-data...

The data center at the Armory is politically dead. Any elected official who supports it is likely to face a serious challenge in the next election. My sense is that the “yes” vote on the Armory data center played a major role in the alderperson’s defeat. www.kbtx.com/2025/09/12/c...

A generation of babies born in the Saint Louis metro is missing from the demographic records. The region is missing about 220K to 300K residents based on the number births over deaths. Natural population increase has ended. Saint Louis will have a record number of deaths and not enough births.

Last year, there were approximately 40,990 high school graduates in the 15-county Saint Louis MSA. 29,571 first graders are enrolled. By 2035 we may see around 27,000 graduates, a decline that signals a smaller future workforce and fewer young families entering adulthood in the region.

A sneak peak at my talk tonight at the Missouri History Museum.

Friends, I will present new research on what could happen to the Saint Louis MSA. After 50 years of population growth, that era is coming to an end. STL will need an influx of new and younger residents who can build businesses, start families, and drive the next generation of growth.

Preliminary results from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey offer both encouragement and caution for the region’s future. We dig into it with @ybytata.bsky.social on @stlpublicradio.bsky.social. #STL #population #census Read/listen 🔊:

St. Louis is at a demographic crossroads: new 2024 Census data show both warning signs and opportunities. Saint Louis University professor Ness Sándoval joined @stlonair.bsky.social to talk about how building more single‑family homes may be key to sustaining growth.

Trends for the Saint Louis MSA www.datawrapper.de/_/D48rP/

Friends, Join me today at noon on St. Louis on the Air as we consider the newest census release. It is a mixed story for our region, filled with both challenge and promise. Here is some national data Join us we talk how these trends look locally. www.datawrapper.de/_/StTrO/

“The city has about a year to keep hope alive. And there has to be some evidence of a rebuilding.” Ness Sándoval, St. Louis University demographer. www.stlpr.org/health-scien...

In the 15-county Saint Louis MSA, an estimated 625,000 Baby Boomers will die over the next two decades. The region will face a profound demographic test. If we are fortunate, we may welcome around 520,000 births during that same period. A more realistic estimate is closer to 450,000 we work today.

This is the path to growth when deaths outnumber births. The state added 101 residents from migration and 59,819 international migrants from 2020 to 2024. The city and county have to do a better job of welcoming new residents and investing in the current residents.

Missouri is struggling to recover from COVID. The state does not have the demographic resilience to return to a pattern of more births than deaths. Many people are upset that I made this map. Maybe it is a reminder that state never prioritized families with children. You can hide the facts.

Newsflash: families and children won’t wait 5–7 years for North Saint Louis neighborhoods to be rebuilt. The story of population loss is really about the city’s failure to see that the candle of hope is slowly burning out.

Blown off the Map: From Demographic Shock to Aftershock, Neighborhood Change After the May Tornado The aftershock will be much larger than the demographic shock. www.stltoday.com/news/local/e...

1-4 pm September 14th Oratorio STL Workshop at St. Francis de Sales Oratory Courtyard Urbanism: Building Cities for Families Register www.eventbrite.com/e/courtyard-... Also see @ybytata.bsky.social posts

These are the top cities in 2023 where people relocated from another MSA. The demographic clock is ticking—Americans are on the move. Fewer are moving to Saint Louis City. The city is still ranked 4th in Missouri. It is the top destination in the STL region. www.datawrapper.de/_/tsZwr/

Saint Louis City loses when it prioritizes buildings over people. Migration into the city is slowing—only 8,036 residents moved in from another metro area in 2023, compared to 10,475 in 2010. Doubling down on buildings without children is not a wise investment.

I don’t think we’ll get a single ‘Wow’ moment in Saint Louis over the next few years, but rather a series of ‘Oh wow, what the F…’ moments. That’s my gut reaction today.

I do not like to sound overly critical but when PR post charts without even checking the legend & claim STL is an emerging AI metro, I cant help but push back. We are the 23rd largest MSA, by economic size, we should already be a star hub. What we are really doing is bragging about being behind.

SLU Professor @ybytata.bsky.social says Detroit has been able to stem the tide of population loss by prioritizing families with kids — and that St. Louis would do well to follow its lead. #STL #population #birthrate #immigration #census Read/listen 🔊:

Detroit once faced a crisis far greater than ours, with far more deaths than births. Today, it has reversed that reality, now welcomes more births than deaths. The city is growing. In my view this transformation began with a mayor who believed in families with children www.stlpr.org/show/st-loui...

Fact check our City of St. Louis government’s values by examining THREE new taxing districts that are currently moving thru the approval process for the Jefferson Arms project. Lowball estimate: $8 M in public money💰via: #JeffArmsCID 25 yr #JeffArmsTDD 25 yr #JeffArmsPID 40 yr + $17.4 M #JeffArmsTIF

I am always struck by how often Saint Louis City forgets its obligation to care for the common good of its residents. www.stltoday.com/news/local/m...

Saint Louis’ future will not be secured by any single city, county, or neighborhood, but by a shared commitment to One Saint Louis. Join as we continue our discussion to grow the region and invest in families with children