Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data on 2021–2022 Pennsylvania population trends show significant shifts as residents relocated to what they presumed to be safer locales. But Montgomery County bucked that trend, as reported by Michael Tanenbaum at PhillyVoice.

Statewide, Pennsylvania lost about 40,000 residents during the pandemic’s second full year.

Philadelphia saw an exodus of 1.7 percent of its residents in 2020–2021, the timeframe of its latest data pull.

It was one of several densely populated areas in the state that saw citizens relocating; Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Reading also experienced drops in population trends.

Among the Phila. suburbs, however, Montgomery County grew during the same period.

Other geographies gaining numbers were nearby Chester County and Pike County, a location in the northeastern corner of the state (east of Scranton) theorized to have become popular as an easy escape for people exiting New York and New Jersey.

Nationally, 2021–2022 population trends in the South and West showed growth, while the Northeast and Midwest saw numbers drop.

More on population trends nationwide is at PhillyVoice.

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Curious about population shifts nationwide during the pandemic? This video uses easy-to-grasp graphics to demonstrate who went where.