The Philadelphia region, and its eight counties, lost about .2 percent of its population between 2020 and 2023 to settle in at a regional population of 5,496,558, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Southeastern Delaware County saw the steepest drop, losing about 1,700 residents since 2020, writes Oona Goodin-Smith and John Duchneskie for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

An exception to that was the city of Chester, which grew by 1,000 residents, despite a bankruptcy filing in 2022.

The population shifts between 2020 and 2023 were influenced by the pandemic, the rise of remote work and other pandemic-related life-style changes.

Certain communities also benefited from the creation of thousands of multifamily units since 2014, which brought in thousands of residents.

Brett Fusco, associate director of comprehensive planning at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, noted that Delaware and Bucks counties had some of the fewest new multifamily housing units built over the last five years.

“People have been staying put,” said Stephanie Garomon, president of the Bucks County Association of Realtors. “And even with the interest rates having gone up, a lot of homeowners are saying, ‘OK, I’ll get a top dollar for my house. But where do I go?’”

Read more about population and housing trends in the region in The Philadelphia Inquirer.