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December 22, 2021

Census: CT gained 5,300+ residents during key stretch of pandemic

HBJ File Photo Downtown Hartford skyline.
By Zachary Vasile

In a reversal of recent trends, Connecticut gained more residents than it lost between July 2020 and July 2021, according to newly released U.S. Census data.

The state added 5,337 residents, an increase of 0.1%, between mid-2020 and mid-2021, the traditional interval used by federal Census analysts.

The data indicate Connecticut actually lost an even larger number of people in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the spring of 2020, but gradually rebounded, likely a result of changing residency patterns brought on by the health crisis.

Deaths outpaced births over the 12-month period — 37,646 to 32,671 — but Connecticut made up ground with international migration, which added 4,583 residents, and migration from other U.S. states, which brought in 5,143 people.

Connecticut has struggled to grow its population over the last decade (the number of people residing in the state grew only 0.9% from 2010 to 2020, according to the Census). But changing living preferences appear to be contributing to a slight upswing, at least in the southwest section of the state.

An analysis of U.S. Postal Service data from earlier this year indicated that thousands of people relocated from the New York City metro area and northern New Jersey to southern Fairfield County since the pandemic began, trading small, costly apartments for larger, more private homes in the suburbs.

That migration is believed to have slowed during 2021, as New York City reopened its economy and dropped most coronavirus-related restrictions, but some analysts have pointed out that pandemic-inspired changes to working life, including the increasing prevalence of remote work, could continue long term, a trend that would keep Connecticut a desirable landing point for many would-be transplants.

Overall, Connecticut’s modest population increase put the state near the middle of the pack in growth nationally between 2020 and 2021.

Larger, more urban states, such as California, New York and Illinois, saw their populations shrink, while less populous western states, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada, reported gains between 0.5% and 2.9%.

In New England, Maine (0.7%), New Hampshire (0.8%) and Vermont (0.5%), together with Connecticut, had more in-migration than out-migration, while Massachusetts (-0.5%) and Rhode Island (-0.1%) saw declines.

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