Shelby Co. population drops for the 5th year

While the Memphis metropolitan area barely grew, Shelby County’s population declined for a fifth straight year during the 12 months ending last July 1, according to census estimates released Tuesday.

The number of people living in the county dropped by 169 to 936,961, the estimates show. The decrease, although very slight, was the fifth decline in row since 2012, when Shelby’s population reached 939,425.

The latest census numbers were only slightly better for the entire ninecounty Memphis metro area. The area added 3,067 people, an increase of 0.2 percent, for a total of 1,348,260.

Elena Delavega, associate professor of social work at the University of Memphis, said the county’s lack of growth shows that the poverty problem that originated in the city’s core “ultimately affects the entire region.”

The Memphis area, she said, is seen as an unappealing place to live, crippling efforts to attract corporate and industrial prospects.

“If we don’t work on our reputation and improve on how the rest of the country perceives us, people are not going to want to move here,” Delavega said.

In addition to Shelby, three other counties in the metro area — Crittenden in Arkansas and Marshall and Tunica in Mississippi — saw slight decreases in population. DeSoto County once again enjoyed the fastest population growth locally, increasing by 1.8