A Tale of Two Counties

Philadelphia and Florida's Hillsborough County have roughly the same number of residents but are heading in opposite directions in terms of population growth. The biggest difference is what the Census Bureau calls net domestic migration — the difference between the number of relocating people within the U.S. who move in versus those who move out. From 2020 to 2023, the net result was a loss of nearly 81,000 residents to Philadelphia. By contrast, about 36,000 more people moved into Hillsborough County than moved out. Overall, Philadelphia lost more than 53,000 residents since 2020, while Tampa's home county gained more than 75,000 residents.