CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland's population decline has slowed considerably over the last few years, according to new estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.



The latest estimates, which are for July 2015, place Cleveland's population at 388,072, down 2.2 percent from 396,815 when the census was taken in 2010.



If the estimates are accurate at the midway point before the next official count in 2020, Cleveland is on pace for its smallest loss since its population peaked at 914,808 in 1950.



Cleveland lost an estimated 8,843 people in the five years since the last census, in comparison to an official loss of 81,462 from 2000 to 2010.

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Interim estimates for cities sometimes are off target, as was the case in understating the population loss in Cleveland before the official 2010 population numbers were released. Nevertheless, the latest estimates offer an encouraging sign for a city that has experienced substantial population losses for decades.

Here is Cleveland's population for each U.S. Census since 1840, and the estimate from the Census Bureau for 2015.

The Census Bureau on Thursday released 2015 population estimates for every city in the United States.



Here are five takeaways:

1. Greater Cleveland trends

The three fastest growing cities in Greater Cleveland are from Lorain County, directly on the border with Cuyahoga County. North Ridgeville is up 3,018 to 32,483, Avon is up 1,351 to 22,544 and Avon Lake is up 872 to 23,453.



After Cleveland, the region's cities experiencing the biggest loses are Parma, down 1,664 to 79,937, Akron down 1,568 to 197,542 and Lakewood down 1,475 to 50,656.

2. Columbus approaches Cleveland population high

Columbus, Ohio's largest city, may soon become larger than Cleveland ever was. Adding an estimated 63,073 residents since 2010, Columbus now has 850,106, ranking 15th nationally.



Cleveland was seventh nationally when it reached its high point at 914,808 in 1950.

Cleveland's highest ranking was fifth at 796,841 in 1920. At that time, only New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit were bigger than Cleveland.

3. Most Ohio big cities down

Cleveland's population is down, like most large cities in Ohio.

Over the last five years, population is down for 14 out of Ohio's 16 largest cities. The only increases are for Columbus and Cincinnati, which gained 1,607 to 298,550.



But the population for many smaller cities is up. The five fastest growing cities in the state are in Central Ohio.

After Columbus, next in terms of population gain are Hilliard (5,214 to 33,649), Grove City (3,813 to 39,388), Dublin (3,347 to 45,098) and Delaware (3,242 to 37,995).

4. America's 10 largest cities

The nation's 10 largest cities remain ranked exactly as they were at the time of the 2010 census, led by New York (8,850,405), Los Angeles (3,971,883) Chicago (2,720,546) and Houston (2,296,224).

The rest of the top 10 are Philadelphia (1,567,442), Phoenix (1,563,025), San Antonio (1,469,845), San Diego (1,394,928), Dallas (1,300,092) and San Jose (1,026,908).

5. New York's growth amounts to a Cleveland

New York has gained more residents than any city since 2010, adding 375,272 residents in five years.

To get an idea of how many people that is, consider this: It's almost like moving the entire city of Cleveland into New York. Cleveland's population is 388,072.



While New York grew by 4.6 percent, other big cities grew at a faster rate.



Austin, Texas, grew by 17.9 percent, or 141,440, to reach 931,830. Denver is up 13.7 percent, or 82,387, to 682,546, and Charlotte, N.C., is up 13.1 percent, or 95,673, to 827,097.



In Ohio, Columbus' growth of 63,073 amounted to an 8 percent gain.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner



Ohio's largest cities

Rk. City Census 2010 2015 estimate 1 Columbus 787,033 850,106 2 Cleveland 396,815 388,072 3 Cincinnati 296,943 298,550 4 Toledo 287,208 279,789 5 Akron 199,110 197,542 6 Dayton 141,527 140,599 7 Parma 81,601 79,937 8 Canton 73,007 71,885 9 Youngstown 66,982 64,628 10 Lorain 64,097 63,647 11 Hamilton 62,477 62,407 12 Springfield 60,608 59,680 13 Kettering 56,163 55,525 14 Elyria 54,533 53,775 15 Lakewood 52,131 50,656 16 Cuyahoga Falls 49,652 49,146 17 Middletown 48,694 48,760 18 Newark 47,573 47,986 19 Euclid 48,920 47,676 20 Mentor 47,159 46,901

Nation's largest cities

Rk. City Census 2010 2015 estimate 1 New York 8,175,133 8,550,405 2 Los Angeles 3,792,621 3,971,883 3 Chicago 2,695,598 2,720,546 4 Houston 2,099,451 2,296,224 5 Philadelphia 1,526,006 1,567,442 6 Phoenix 1,445,632 1,563,025 7 San Antonio 1,327,407 1,469,845 8 San Diego 1,307,402 1,394,928 9 Dallas 1,197,816 1,300,092 10 San Jose 945,942 1,026,908 11 Austin 790,390 931,830 12 Jacksonville 821,784 868,031 13 San Francisco 805,235 864,816 14 Indianapolis 820,445 853,173 15 Columbus 787,033 850,106 16 Fort Worth 741,206 833,319 17 Charlotte 731,424 827,097 18 Seattle 608,660 684,451 19 Denver 600,158 682,545 20 El Paso 649,121 681,124

Source: U.S. Census Bureau