San Francisco Becomes Fastest-Shrinking U.S. City

Yahoo News/Reuters ^ | Thu Jul 10, 5:00 PM ET | Andrea Orr

[hattend]

San Francisco Becomes Fastest-Shrinking U.S. City Thu Jul 10, 5:00 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Andrea Orr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - I left my forwarding address in San Francisco.

The foggy city by the bay, which has lost jobs and income in the technology industry bust, saw the largest population decline of any major city in the United States last year, according to U.S. Census data.

San Francisco's population declined by 1.5 percent or nearly 12,000 between July 2001 and July 2002, making it the biggest loser among 242 U.S. cities with more than 100,000 people, a report released on Thursday showed.

San Francisco, with a population of about 776,000 in mid-2002, joins some other famously depressed U.S. cities, including Flint, Michigan, which ranked 240 on the list with a population decline of 1.4 percent or 1,687 people, and Gary, Indiana, which came in at 227, losing 0.8 percent of its population, or 793 people. San Francisco lost 11,929 residents over the same one-year period.

But the exodus from the San Francisco Bay Area appears more pronounced considering all the other surrounding cities that also suffered big population declines.

Second to last on the list was Sunnyvale, California, a Silicon Valley city about 50 miles south of San Francisco, and the home to number of high-tech companies and high-tech workers, who were hit hard by the dot-com bust. Sunnyvale's population declined by 1.4 percent, or 1,830 people, the report showed.

DOT-COM ADIEU

San Jose, California, also a key Silicon Valley city, ranked near the bottom of the list, at 220, as did Daly City, just outside of San Francisco, which ranked 236. San Jose lost 5,740 people or 0.6 percent of its people and Daly City 1,089 people or 1.1 percent.

Hundreds of high-tech start-up companies based in northern California have closed their doors during the past three years, sending many people out of town in search of work.

California's Employment Development Department said San Francisco had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.6 percent in May, compared with a national rate of 6.1 percent. The jobless rate in Santa Clara County, encompassing Sunnyvale and much of Silicon Valley, was 8 percent.

This recent exodus marks a stark reversal of trends seen in the late 1990s when engineers and recent college and business school graduates thronged to the Silicon Valley region seeking work at high-tech companies that offered generous compensation and stock option packages.

Although San Francisco has not ranked among the fastest growing cities at any time in recent history, it did show healthy expansion throughout the 1990s, with its population growing 7.3 percent over the course of that decade, census data show.

Most of the fastest growth in the United States meanwhile, is occurring in southern California and throughout the Southwest. The Census report ranked Gilbert, Arizona, with a 10.3 percent population increase last year alone, as the fastest growing city in the U.S.

North Las Vegas, Nevada came in second with Rancho Cucamonga near Los Angeles; Henderson, Nevada; and Joliet, Illinois rounding out the top five.

[BIGZ]

Not true! Lawyers are living proof that one gender can procreate.

[jimtorr]

Mountain View, eh? My company has an office in Mountian View, where I lived for 13 years, and several more in Maryland, where I now live.

Software Engineers and Systems types are slowing moving to Maryland from MTV. They sell their 1,500 sq. ft. houses in Mt. View, Sunnyvale and San Jose and use the proceeds to buy 5,000 sq. ft. houses on 1 or more acres of land in Maryland, furnish and landscape the new place, and still have money left over.

[BIGZ]

Not true! Lawyers are living proof that on gender relationships can procreate.

[cherry_bomb88]

Lawyers don't "procreate"....they spread, like a fungus!

[First_Salute]

Socialists once again blaming their failures on capitalism.

[kellynla]

Buck stops at the mayor's office..."despite all his faults and cronyism" is not a solution but an excuse. Just ask yourself the question while walking downtown and you were the mayor "would you permit your city to look as it does?" A dirty toilet in your house is still a dirty toilet whether you dirtied it or someone else did. It's still a dirty toilet and it's still in your house.

[Lancey Howard]

But the exodus from the San Francisco Bay Area appears more pronounced considering all the other surrounding cities that also suffered big population declines.

Now, why would people flee such a nice, liberal, socialist, homeless-urine-soaked, pervert magnet like San Fransicko?

[GSWarrior]

True, but could you imagine how much worse things would be if Ammiano were mayor?

[The Human G-Nome]

the libs.....high taxes, allowing street trash to roam.
>>>

you obviously having been paying any attention to local San Francisco politics of late. there is nothing pro "street trash" about their agenda.

[kellynla]

No, but I could imagine how much better things would be if Frank Jordan, you or even I were mayor. :-)

[The Human G-Nome]

gosh, what would some people do with their time if they weren't decrying all the "fags", "homos" and general sickness of San Francisco? i love when people like to talk at length about cities and people then know nothing or very little about. every homophobe outside of California is convinced San Francisco is just a city with "a bunch of fags". it is interesting after reading this thread to see just how unenligtened folks are about the general demographics, local city politics and the Bay Area in general. you'd think the entire city were one big skid row. (yes, before you have at me, i know..... it's a "moral" skid row already. yes, thanks, gotcha)

[Joe Hadenuf]

You bet, if of them leave, that is one of the few cities I would actually live in. A very beautiful city.....

[Joe Hadenuf]

Make that: if most of them left, that is one of the few cities I would actually live in. Way nice town in a beautiful setting.......

[cherry_bomb88]

It used to be a very romantic city too....but now it's only romantic if you're into the same sex thing.

[Grando Calrissian]

You're the one who doesn't know the truth about San Francisco. On every street corner their are gay men sodomizing one another. The City's sewer system is constantly overflowing from used condoms, crack viles and hypodermic needles. You can't walk two feet without stepping in a puddle of urine, or a pile of excrement. Everybody does drugs, even the cops. Part of the School District's exit exam includes a portion where kids must take LSD and then write about their experiences. Every house and every building has a rainbow flag hanging from it. More people where butt-less chaps than blue jeans. Packs of lesbians roam the City trying to convert the unbelievers. Behind the City's bushes lay gangs of illegal aliens trying to steal your daughters. All the billboards contain at least some gay propaganda. Everyday there is a protest.

[Slyfox]

My new next door sold their 3 bedroom in CA and had enough to nearly pay off their new house in TX and put the rest in the bank.

I guess the trick is to move away from Silicon.

[Joe Hadenuf]

You're the one who doesn't know the truth about San Francisco. On every street corner their are gay men sodomizing one another.

Get a grip....LOL!

[Poohbah]

trust me... if you lived in San Francisco for any siginificant period of time, you'd realize that the single, attractive women outnumber the single attractive men 2 to 1. it's a little gem of a fact of which some folks are more then happy to take advantage.

It's what we Marines called a "target-rich environment."

[Joe Hadenuf]

Oh, I should have read your entire post to realize it was sarcasm.....LOL.......

[Sub-Driver]

who would want to live there anyway ...........great example of liberalism ruining a great city.......