Summit County saw its population drop last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.
The county lost 632 people between July 2014 and July 2015, ranking it 90th for population loss among 3,142 counties nationwide.
The dip follows two consecutive years of gains.
Despite the decline, Summit remains the fourth-largest county in Ohio with 541,968 residents.
Akron Planning Director Jason Segedy wasn’t worried about the one-year drop, noting that it represents only a 0.1 percent decline.
The larger issue, he said, is the stagnant population in the region.
“We should be concerned in the sense if we can get economic growth in our area, it will help with that number,” Segedy said. “My take on the population number isn’t so much having people here for the sake of having people but what does that say about our economy?”
Summit trails only Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton in terms of population in Ohio.
Cuyahoga County lost 4,689 people last year — the fourth-worst decline nationwide — and is close to losing its status as Ohio’s most populous county.
Franklin County, home to Columbus, gained 2,751 people and will likely soon surpass Cuyahoga.
Cuyahoga has 1,255,921 residents, while Franklin has 1,251,722 in the latest census estimates.
It’s unclear why Summit saw the one-year decline. One theory is that fewer people are moving into Summit from Cuyahoga.
“Summit, as well as some of the other adjacent counties to Cuyahoga, really benefit by the continued suburbanization, sprawl if you will, from Cuyahoga County,” said Mark Salling, director of the Northern Ohio Data and Information Service and fellow at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.
Summit lost 2,227 people through domestic migration in the one-year period, essentially people moving elsewhere. But it gained 1,155 through international migration.
Births and deaths also were a factor.
Cook County, Ill., home to Chicago, saw the biggest numerical decline last year at 10,488, followed by a 6,673 loss in Wayne County, Mich., home to Detroit.
The Census Bureau also released annual figures for metropolitan areas.
The Akron metro area, which covers Summit and Portage counties, saw a decline of 592 people — the second dip in the last five years. The Portage population increased by 40 people to 162,275.
Also in the Akron area:
• Medina grew by 432 people to 176,395.
• Stark fell 473 people to 375,165.
• Wayne grew by 321 people to 116,063.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.