Erie has been ranked as the slowest-growing city in America, according to a national survey by personal finance website Wallethub. 

The survey compared 515 cities of varying population sizes across the United States based on 17 key measures of both growth and decline over a period of seven years. Rankings include things like working age population growth and college educated population growth. It also measures things such as job growth, poverty rate decrease, and building permit activity growth.

Out of 515 cities, Erie ranks 515th overall. The 2019 survey ranked Erie at 513 out of 515. 

The survey ranks Erie at 511 for sociodemographics and 511 for jobs and economy. 

Regional cities didn't fare much better. They include: 

  • Erie: 515
  • Canton, Ohio: 477
  • Cleveland: 470
  • Akron, Ohio: 460
  • Buffalo: 436
  • Youngstown, Ohio: 433
  • Pittsburgh: 380

Pennsylvania rankings:

  • Erie: 515
  • Scranton: 455
  • Allentown: 327
  • Philadelphia: 308
  • Reading: 301
  • Bethlehem: 272

Nationally, the fastest growing cities are mostly found in the south and west. The top five fastest growing cities are: 

  1. Fort Myers, Fla. 
  2. Bend, Ore. 
  3. Meridian, Idaho
  4. Milpitas, Calif. 
  5. Enterprise, Nev.

The slowest-growing cities in America include: 

           510. Albany, Ga. 
           511. Decatur, Ill.
           512. Shreveport, La.
           513. Anchorage, Alaska 
           514. Peoria, Ill.
           515. Erie

The full report from Wallethub is available here.