Rochester population falls out of top 100

For the first time in its history, Rochester does not rank among the 100 largest cities in the United States.

New population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that the number of city residents fell from 210,565 in 2010 to 209,983 in 2014.

With that comes a fall in the rankings, from 98th in population to 102nd.

Rochester's population ranked among the top-25 cities in the country from its first appearance on the U.S. Census in 1830 through 1940, when it ranked 23rd with 324,975 residents.

Since 1950, the city's population and ranking have fallen steadily. Rochester ranked 49th in 1970, 66th in 1990, and 98th in 2010.

While the drop for Rochester is relatively small — 582 people, or 0.3 percent — it comes at a time when cities in the West and South are seeing significant growth.

Boise, Idaho, which had a population slightly smaller than Rochester at the 2010 Census, has since grown by nearly 10,000. Gilbert, Arizona, added 30,000 residents during the same time period. Richmond, Virginia, was up by almost 14,000. All three of those cities have leapfrogged Rochester in the rankings since 2010.

The population of Rochester peaked at 332,488 in the 1950 Census, buoyed by the growth of local manufacturing giants who were attracting new workers, and of course by the post-war baby boom.

But within 20 years, nearly a quarter of Rochester's population was gone, and the decline has continued at a fairly steady rate.

The Census Bureau projections show that despite the city's losses, Monroe County has grown slightly since 2010, up roughly one percent from 744,340 to 749,857.

Most of those gains occurred in the towns of Webster (up by 1,251 residents), Henrietta (1,058), Greece 989), and Penfield (947).

Outside of the city, only two towns in Monroe County saw their population decrease since 2010: Irondequoit, which is down by 230, and Wheatland, which fell by 15.

Among surrounding counties, only Ontario County saw its population grow. The county's population rose by 1,776 from 2010 to 2014.

Other counties surrounding Rochester all saw declines: Wayne County was down by 1,721, Genesee County was down 917, Orleans County dropped by 899, and Livingston lost 50 residents from 2000 to 2010.

Among other upstate cities, Buffalo's population fell by roughly 1 percent from 2010 to 2014, dropping from 70th to 73rd on the list of most populous U.S. cities. Syracuse fell from 166th to 177th with a population decline of 0.7 percent.

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

Rochester's population through the years

Year Rank Pop 2014 (est) 102 209,983 2010 98 210,565 2000 79 219,773 1990 66 231,636 1980 57 241,741 1970 49 296,233 1960 38 318,611 1950 32 332,488 1940 23 324,975 1930 22 328,132 1920 23 295,750 1910 25 218,149 1900 24 162,608 1890 22 133,896 1880 22 89,366 1870 22 62,386 1860 18 48,204 1850 21 36,403 1840 19 20,191 1830 25 9,207

Source: U.S. Census and staff research