As the calendar turns to 2026 in the Ohio Valley, it’s fitting that we all look to the future. What is it that this region needs in the new year? What will push it into a better place?

There’s a short, but important answer: growth.

It’s not growth in any one specific area. It’s growth in every area — population, economics, you name it. For decades, the Ohio Valley has been shrinking with no real evidence of an upturn.

Take Wheeling, for example. The 2000 census had The Friendly City at 31,419 residents. In 2010, that total dropped to 28,486, and then to 27,062 in 2020. The estimate now is 26,208.

In Moundsville, the 2020 census was at 9,998 residents, down to 9,318 in 2010 and 8,122 in 2020. The estimate now is 7,703. Up north in Weirton, the population has fallen from 20,411 in 2000 to 19,746 in 2010 to 19,163 in 2020 with an estimate of 18,317 now.

The picture isn’t any rosier on the other side of the Ohio River. St. Clairsville saw a small climb from 5,057 in 2000 to 5,184 in 2010, but the population fell to 5,096 in 2020 and an estimate of 4,954 in 2025. Martins Ferry fell from 7,226 in 2000 to 6,915 in 2010 to 6,260 in 2020 and an estimate of 6,050 in 2025. Steubenville fell from 19,015 in 2000 to 18,659 in 2010 to 18,161 in 2020 with an estimate of 18,029 in 2025.

So up and down the Ohio River in both Ohio and West Virginia, populations have shrunk for decades. Some folks say we’re looking at those numbers in too much of a doom-and-gloom mindset, that we should be heartened by the fact that population losses have gotten smaller year over year. But losses are still losses, and there must come a time where smaller failures must stop being accepted as moral victories.

The solution to this conundrum won’t come from just one source. It must be a community-wide effort, from municipal governments to chambers of commerce to convention and visitors bureaus. Everyone must come together to make Ohio Valley neighborhoods a place people will want to move to and live in.

Municipalities must make sure their ordinances make their communities attractive to both new residents and new businesses. Zoning boards must not be groups where prospective businesses assume they’ll be told “no.” Those new businesses will lure new residents looking for good jobs.

Consequently, more affordable housing must be on the menu. Young families want a home where they can move in with minimal renovations necessary. New builds can help fix that problem, but that will take open land and economic environments that entice developers to construct those homes.

Those local communities will need help from their respective state governments as well. Legislatures must put at the top of their lists laws that make prospective residents feel welcome within their borders, which will spur industries to move in and set up shop. There have been some successes already in that area with business-friendly legislation, but that can’t cease now.

There already has been plenty done to try to reverse the losses of the last few decades, but it hasn’t yet turned the tide in turning those numbers around. It must be the task of everyone in the Ohio Valley to finally hit the breaks on those declines and start welcoming new neighbors into our communities.