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Westmoreland County saw the seventh largest natural population decline last year compared to counties across the country, according to population estimates from the census.
The estimates show that Westmoreland lost 1,943 people in 2020 through natural population changes, meaning there were more deaths than births.
“The description of what’s happening in Westmoreland County … is what we would call aging in place,” said Chris Briem, a regional economist for the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research. “They’ve gotten older, but it’s the people who have always been there that stay.”