Worcester goes from winner to loser; Lowell does the reverse

Here's a follow-up map to the one showing population changes in Massachusetts from 2006 to 2007. This one highlights which cities and towns moved from the "gaining population" to "losing population" column, or vice versa, in the latest Census Bureau estimates.

Note that a lot of Boston's closer suburbs, especially to the north and west, gained population after losses earlier in the decade (or, perhaps more accurately, gained housing units, since new construction pretty much guarantees new residents). In contrast, several communities in Worcester County and south of Boston stopped growing. The five largest communities to shift to the "gaining" category were Lowell, Newton, Framingham, Malden, and Arlington. The five largest communities that moved to the "loss" column were Worcester, Medford (ha!), Revere, Methuen, and Salem.