Here are the population figures and population trends/changes from 2020 to 2023 according to the U.S. Census Bureau for all designated MSAs in the traditional "Deep South" states (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) and where each metro area ranks population wise amongst each other as well as nationally among the 387 federally designated MSAs in the country.

Perhaps the most interesting trend looking at the numbers is how the rate of population growth from one state to the next increases on an almost linear scale as you go west to east from LA to MS to AL to GA to SC. Don't know if that's just a coincidence but it's interesting nonetheless.

Population estimates are listed from largest to smallest based on 2023 U.S. Census metro area population figures along with each MSA's 2023 population in bold. Where each MSA ranks nationally population wise is in parenthesis and each metro area's % change in population from 2020 to 2023 is listed as well:

1) Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (6th) - 6,307,261 +3.32%
2) Birmingham, AL (47th) - 1,184,290 +0.31%
3) Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC (57th) - 975,480 +5.09%
4) New Orleans-Metarie, LA (58th) - 972,165 -4.48%
5) Baton Rouge, LA (66th) - 873,661 +0.36%
6) Columbia, SC (70th) - 858,302 +3.48%
7) Charleston-North Charleston, SC (71st) - 849,417 +6.23%
8) Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (92nd) - 629,429 +3.02%
9) Jackson, MS (93rd) - 610,257 -1.57%
10) Huntsville, AL (108th) - 527,254 +7.23%
11) Savannah, GA (129th) - 424,935 +4.97%
12) Gulfport-Biloxi, MS (130th) - 421,916 +1.36%
13) Lafayette, LA (132nd) - 414,288 +1.43%
14) Mobile, AL MSA (133rd) - 411,640 -0.76%
15) Myrtle Beach-Conway-N Myrtle Beach, SC (139th)- 397,478 +13.23%
16) Montgomery, AL (143rd) - 385,480 -0.15%
17) Spartanburg, SC (144th) - 383,327 +7.91%
18) Shreveport-Bossier City, LA (145th) - 383,295 -2.57%
19) Columbus, GA-AL (164th) - 323,768 -1.56%
20) Tuscaloosa, AL (180th) - 278,290 +3.58%
21) Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA (183rd) - 275,583 +4.16%
22) Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL (194th) - 253,507 +9.38%
23) Lake Charles, LA (199th) - 240,082 -5.72%
24) Macon-Bibb County, GA (200th) - 236,074 +0.97%
25) Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC (202nd) - 232,523 +7.70%
26) Athens-Clarke County, GA (213th) - 222,060 +3.08%
27) Monroe, LA (214th) - 221,885 -2.32%
28) Gainesville, GA (216th) - 217,267 +6.96%
29) Auburn-Opelika, AL (231st) - 201,585 +4.03%
30) Warner Robins, GA (232nd) - 200,779 +4.78%
31) Florence, SC (233rd) - 199,630 -0.17%
32) Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA (234th) - 198,672 -4.09%
33) Decatur, AL (271st) - 158,635 +1.37%
34) Hattiesburg, MS (278th) - 155,740 +1.20%
35) Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL (280th) - 155,175 +2.91%
36) Dothan, AL (282nd) - 153,349 +1.55%
37) Valdosta, GA (287th) - 151,118 +2.02%
38) Alexandria, LA (290th) - 148,171 -2.64%
39) Albany, GA (294th) - 145,508 -2.29%
40) Dalton, GA (296th) - 144,722 +1.32%
41) Hammond, LA (302nd) - 138,064 +3.69%
42) Anniston-Oxford, AL (336th) - 116,429 -0.01%
43) Brunswick-St. Simons Island, GA (337th) - 116,074 +2.27%
44) Sumter, SC (353rd) - 104,165 -1.32%
45) Gadsden, AL (356th) - 103,241 -0.19%
46) Rome, GA (363rd) - 100,163 +1.55%
47) Hinesville, GA (372nd) - 88,804 +9.06%

LINK

This post was edited on 6/19/24 at 7:52 pm