Columbia’s population dropped below 6,000 in 2018 for the first time since the 1930s, according to census estimates.
The city’s population was 5,941 in 2018 versus 6,582 at the 2010 census. That’s a loss of 641 people, or 9.7 percent.
The U.S. Census Bureau published the numbers for cities on May 23, after having released county estimates in April. Marion County’s population fell 8.8 percent from 27,088 in 2010 to 24,715 in 2018.
The numbers reflect a trend of population decline in rural areas throughout Mississippi and the United States. Out of the state’s 298 incorporated cities and towns, 225 of them (76 percent) have lost population since 2010.
Columbia’s population was last below 6,000 in the 1930 census, when it was 4,531.
It grew to 6,064 by 1940 and hit a peak of 7,733 in 1980. It has been slowly falling since then.
Many of the growing areas in Mississippi are small communities that are suburbs of larger cities.
For example, Sumrall and Purvis in Lamar County are among the 25 fastest-growing cities in the state as people have moved from Hattiesburg. Sumrall experienced 29 percent growth from 2010 to 2018 and Purvis 8.1 percent.
Hattiesburg, on the other hand, saw its population fall 0.1 percent.
