St. Louis’ population decline is often talked about in the context of the city’s population peaking shortly after World War II and then dropping steadily in the seven decades since. But Saint Louis University professor and demographer Ness Sándoval says that to only focus on the city is to miss the bigger issue bedeviling St. Louis, and that is people leaving the region altogether — specifically, Black families. Sandoval talked to the RFT about why this is happening, where they’re going and why it matters.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Last year, you spoke to the Board of Alderman about the city’s population loss, saying that while St. Louis is gaining single people and couples with no kids, Black families were leaving, causing a net population loss. Where are the Black families going?
They’re moving out to St. Charles, to some extent. Definitely St. Louis County. A little bit to Jefferson, but not much. But I always say this city-county boundary, for me as a demographer, is really a fake boundary, there’s constant movement [back and forth] everyday. So when you see population loss in the city, and they’re just moving half a mile to the county, that’s not a concern at all.