A recent article in the Topeka Capital-Journal listed Pittsburg in the top 14 Kansas cities to lose at least 100 residents between 2022 and 2023. Three other southeast Kansas cities — Independence, Coffeyville, and Chanute — also made the list at the 11th, 12th, and 14th spots, respectively. Pittsburg ranked seventh with a loss of 154 citizens, leaving the city with 20,504 residents. Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall said he reviewed the Capital-Journal’s data, going back as far as 2015. In that year, the Journal reported Pittsburg’s population as 20,394 and is now reporting 20,504 for 2024. That is an increase of one-half of one percent — statistically flat. “The source data can be speculative,” Hall said. “Over that nine-year span, CJ [the Journal] reports a decrease for each year but two, with growth in 2022 of 4 percent, which was enough to offset all of the decreases, which were each less than three-quarters of a percent.” Hall added that the city uses U.S. Census data, which reported a 2020 population of 20,646 while the Journal reported 20,050 — a difference of 600 people. “I can’t see any trend,” Hall said. “Those miniscule (less than 1 percent) fluctuations are why we don’t get too concerned over any number year to year, whether it is up or down. We of course like to see it up.” Article writer Jason Alatidd, citing the Kansas Division of the Budget’s population data from July 1, says the state’s population currently sits at 2.94 million, an overall increase of 3,396 from last year. Many communities, not just smaller ones, have experienced a recent population decline. Overland Park, with a current population of 197,089, topped the loss list last year with a loss of 637 residents. KCK was also near the top, with a loss of 412, leaving it with 152,933 residents. Meanwhile, other metro area suburbs — Mission, Shawnee, Leawood, Spring Hill, and Gardner — saw increases. On the flip side, some smaller cities gained population. According to the Journal, Emporia grew by 164 to 24,105. Louisburg, in Miami County just south of the Kansas City metro, added 113 new residents to top out at 5,170. Several small communities around the Wichita metro also welcomed new residents. Job growth, new businesses and amenities, and the quality of schools are some of the factors that can affect population shifts, positively or negatively. In Pittsburg, all of these factors are on “a positive trajectory,” according to Hall. “More and more small businesses are trying new things to make Pittsburg a great place to work and play,” Hall said. In the past decade, Pittsburg has experienced growth in art and entertainment as well as both large and small revitalization efforts downtown. Festivals such as ArtWalk and Paint the Town Red have complimented older celebrations like Little Balkans Days. Small, local developers such as Blue Spoon, LLC, Lorenz-Haus Development, and DVLP are committed to breathing new life into old downtown buildings alongside the larger, university-driven projects like Block 22 and Gorilla Rising. “We utilize numerous incentives to encourage growth,” Hall said, “including, but not limited to, the State of Kansas programs like Reinvestment Housing Incentive District and Moderate-Income Housing, as well as local programs like the Revolving Loan Fund, utility assistance, road assistance, and the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.” The three biggest barriers to substantial population growth in Pittsburg are housing, childcare, and access to a four-lane highway between Kansas City and Tulsa, according to Hall. Housing and childcare being the most immediate. “When people explain what they look for when moving to a community,” Hall said, “we hear jobs, housing, education and childcare.” Hall added that the city is seeing a continuation of projects to support commercial, educational, industrial and recreational growth, totaling $727 million and adding 1,700 jobs since 2013. “The community has several initiatives aimed at providing hundreds more childcare spots,” Hall said, “and while we are fortunate for these endeavors, the current plans will still leave us with a shortfall of all the spots we need to allow all the parents who would like to, to reenter the workforce.” At this time, according to Hall, housing inventory seems to be the area that could be stronger. There will be more than 251 new dwellings in downtown by 2025, and numerous builders are active in and around Pittsburg. The focus is on the larger, planned developments that produce neighborhoods with dozens of homes. “We continue to work on the market, where skilled contractors experienced in production building could have a significant impact,” said Hall. “We are also looking at zoning updates and creative funding sources to allow for infrastructure support.” The challenges are not unique to Pittsburg, but are repeated in cities large and small across the country. “It’s a problem we will continue to work on,” Hall said, adding that the city is currently under contract for a new Housing Needs Assessment, which will continue to guide our efforts and help grow Pittsburg. The third challenge is connecting Pittsburg to Kansas City and Tulsa with a four-lane highway. While the city has a stake in such a project, the ultimate timeline for construction is up to the Kansas Department of Transportation. Access to such a route would have a significant impact on growth and increase opportunities. The default route between Tulsa and Kansas City, that most GPS systems will pull up, is I-44 to I-49, which turns into Highway 71 as it enters the southeastern part of the Kansas City metro. “Imagine if you could stay in Kansas when you leave 44 instead of getting on 49 and making that drive into Missouri,” Hall said. “That would bring so many more people through our area and our state. It would have to have a positive impact on your economy.” While the Journal reports a population drop in the past year, it may just be ringing an alarm that doesn’t need rung. Pittsburg may not be growing by leaps and bounds, but it is not declining either. “The old adage is you are either growing or shrinking,” Hall said. “We have had basically the same population for decades. Our economy is growing, but creating new housing is proving to be difficult for the same reasons many communities are facing.”
Source: Morning Sun
