New Data Shows Parts of Kansas City, Missouri are Shrinking?

I was always under the impression that the population in Kansas City, Missouri has exploded upward in recent years. That perception is apparently wrong (partially) based on new data that shows parts of the city are actually shrinking.

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There's very recent data from Smart Asset which highlighted the cities where the population has grown the most. I half expected that Kansas City, Missouri might even show up among the top cities. It didn't. 

There was an offhand mention that Kansas City is one of the cities that is actually seeing a loss in population. How is that even possible?

That led me to a deep dive into an article by National Public Radio in Kansas City that mentioned earlier this year the "discouraging census numbers" in Kansas City. That led me to my "Eureka!" moment when I finally understood what was going on.

They specify that the decline in Kansas City is happening in the downtown metro area. The suburbs are booming, but not enough to offset those who are leaving the Kansas City metro area proper.

Looking at the big picture, the Kansas City area is doing well. It's only parts of the city that are suffering. Time will tell if this becomes a long trend or just a short bump in the road to growth in that part of Missouri.