ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis metro area had the highest growth rate of foreign-born population from 2022-2023 among the top 30 metro areas in the country, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The multi-county area added 30,106 foreign-born residents over that year, a 23.2% increase. However, the St. Louis area still has the second-lowest percentage of foreign-born residents in that group. Only 5.7% of area residents, or 159,710 of the area’s approximately 2.8 million residents, are listed as foreign-born.
Only Pittsburgh’s metro area has a lower percentage of residents being foreign-born.
“These numbers show that the focused and intentional work taking place to make our metro a destination for immigrants is paying major dividends,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
"New Americans are the path to a more vibrant economy, bolstering our population and our ability to compete with other growing regions across the U.S.," said Doug Moore, chief communications officer of St. Louis County.
Immigration is one of the most contentious issues in the U.S. presidential race and in many states.
Other notes from the report showed that:
- The St. Louis metro area lost about 4,000 residents between 2022-2023.
- The Black population ticked up by just under 3,000 residents, the first Cenus-recorded growth among that demographic in six years.
- The Hispanic or Latino population was up by 14,000 from 96,470 in 2022 to 110,391 in 2023.
The data was released as part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which provides vital information about the country its people. Saint Louis University demographer and sociology professor Ness Sandoval noted that this one-year increase labels the St. Louis region as a growing metropolitan area.
