Suburban growth lagged from July 2008 to July 2009, another indication of how the recession and housing bust have kept people trapped in place, according to an analysis of Census data by Brookings Institution demographer William Frey. “There has been a widespread slowdown in suburban growth especially since mid decade,” says Mr. Frey.

According to Frey’s analysis, between July 2008 and July 2009, 27 of the the 52 biggest metro areas saw their suburbs grow slower than in the year-earlier period, and 33 slowed down from the torrid growth in 2004-2005, when the housing boom was in full swing. The slowdown was especially stark in cities hit hardest by the housing bust, including Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando. (See a sortable chart of city growth)

In 2008-2009, 13 metro areas — including Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, Denver and Charlotte — saw their core city area grow faster than the suburbs, up from 6 in 2004-2005.

Of course, none of this means that cities are poised to gain on the suburbs long-term. Most of America lives and works in the suburbs (Chicago’s suburbs are home to 6.4 million people, twice as many as the core city) so once the job market and home prices stabilize, suburban growth is likely to follow.



Continue reading for a chart sortable by city and suburban populations, as well as growth rates. A negative value for suburb minus city means that the city is growing faster than the suburb, a positive value means the suburb is growing faster.