At one end of the state, the metropolitan area grew in population since the 2010 Census, but it has been leapfrogged by other metro areas and now has slipped in the rankings. At the other end of the state, the metropolitan area decreased in population since the 2010 Census, and it was likewise surpassed by other metros.
Example one is the Philadelphia metro, which stretches into parts of other states, and example two is the Pittsburgh metro, which is wholly within PA. Based on Census estimates Philadelphia added 104,496 to its population (2010 Census was 5,965,379, 2015 estimate was 6,069,875) and Pittsburgh fell by 3,238 (2010 Census was 2,356,283, the 2015 estimate was 2,353,045).
News coverage of the estimates indicate somewhat tangentially that both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh–or at least the central cities of each metro–are experiencing the same trends even though metro population is headed in opposite directions based on the 2015 estimates. To wit “The experts say they see evidence of a cultural revitalization in Philadelphia. Neighborhoods that were once depressed have undergone gentrification, attracting new housing and new residents. Erstwhile working-class neighborhoods in Fishtown and South Philadelphia have sprouted wine bars and coffee shops, yoga studios and trendy restaurants” and “That news might be a head-scratcher to some people…who have a hard time meshing it with what they see of Downtown commercial development, East End residential construction, trendy restaurant proliferation and never-ending rankings of how ideal Pittsburgh is.”
Since 2010 in the Pittsburgh metro, the upswing in Allegheny County (7,111) was offset by the decline in Westmoreland (-7,213); the growth in Butler (2,956) offset by a decrease in Fayette (-2,979). The only other county in the metro with positive growth was Washington (441) with losses in Armstrong (-1,889) and Beaver (-1,668).
