Growing by leaps and bounds

Chester County to see significant population growth through 2050

Chester County will outpace its suburban Philadelphia neighbors in population growth over the next 30 years, according to figures from the Pennsylvania State Data Center in State College.

Chester County will see its population grow by 6.9% in the period from 2020 to 2050, while the only other county with a growth that comes close to that is Delaware County, which the figures show could grow at a rate of 5.5% over the same period, according to a news release.

Montgomery County, still the most populous of the four southeastern Pennsylvania “ring” counties outside Philadelphia with 866,005 residents, would see a growth of only 0.2 percent, while the organization estimates that Bucks County would see an overall drop in its growth rate of 7.5 percent.

Since 2020, the date of the last United States census, Chester County has grown from 534,413 residents to 555,744 — a difference of 21,328 people, or 3.9 percent.

At the same time, Montgomery County’s population grew from 856,938 people to 866,005 — a difference of 9,067 — while Delaware County lost population, dropping by 4,321 from 576,322 to 572,002. Bucks County’s population went from 627,987 to an estimated 640,844 in 2024, according to the Census Bureau.

Pennsylvania’s population is expected to grow from 13 million in 2020 to 13.2 million in 2050, according to projections from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Data Center.

This represents a 1.6% increase over the 30year period. In the preceding decade, from 2010 to 2020, the state’s population witnessed a 2.4% growth. Over the past 70 years, Pennsylvania

has experienced gradual, consistent growth, which is anticipated to persist in

the near future.

In the southeast and southcentral regions of the state, counties are expected to see growth during the projection period, in line with recent trends. The largest

numeric population increases from 2020 to 2050 will occur in Philadelphia (+235,616), Lancaster (+46,385), and Lehigh (+42,333) counties.

Westmoreland County, however, is projected to experience

the most significant decline from 2020 to 2050 (-56,857). Other notable population losses will be observed in Bucks (-48,596) and Allegheny (-22,591) counties.

The counties with the largest percentage increases in population from 2020 to 2050 will be Juniata (15.1%), Union (15.0%), Philadelphia (14.7%), Cumberland (14.1%), and Lebanon (12.7%) counties.

Berks County’s population is projected to grow by 7.2% over the same period.

To see the data, visit https://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu.