The self-described City of the Century took a blow to the gut last week when the 2010 census figures were released.
Gary’s population plummeted from 102,746 in 2000 to 80,294 according to the census conducted last year.
Gary’s population loss is magnified by the fact that the city no longer is the largest in Northwest Indiana.
The title of largest city now shifts to Hammond, which has 536 more residents than Gary.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott was ecstatic about his city now being No. 1, but he said he felt bad for Gary.
“It’s sad to see Gary dropping so fast,” McDermott said. “It’s extremely concerning. I feel bad for Mayor Clay. I know he is doing everything he can. It’s shocking to me. I didn’t think in any way Hammond would pass up Gary in the 2010 census.”
While Gary lost 22 percent of its population over the decade, Hammond lost just 2.6 percent of its population since 2000, when its number was 83,048.
Given the amount of population loss across urban America, the minimal loss in Hammond is a tribute to McDermott and other city officials.
McDermott credited his administration’s focus on home ownership and the College Bound scholarship program that encourages people to stay in Hammond as well as move into the city.
Gary’s loss was even more painful in that the city now has fewer than half the population of 176,000 in its heyday 50 years ago.
While we feel for the Steel City, we don’t appreciate the response of Mayor Rudy Clay.
“Those numbers may be on paper, but those are not the real numbers,” Clay said. “In reality, Gary has many, many, many more people than that.”
Clay vowed to appeal, which we suspect is a political move to say the Census Bureau shortchanged Gary.
Rather than appeal, Clay instead should be finding out why his city lost more than 2,000 people annually over the last decade.
Some of the reasons are obvious — poor schools, crime and a deteriorating infrastructure.
Instead of complaining, Clay should bring people together to determine how the city can begin luring people back to Gary. The city has the chance to turn this devastating loss into a positive future.