United States vs. North Carolina Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction U.S.: 2022 Population = 10,698,973 2022 Percent of State = 3.21% North Carolina: 2022 Population = 333,287,557 Attracting and retaining people to live, work, raise a family, and retire underlies the economic vitality of any region. Population growth is both a cause--and a consequence--of economic growth. Patterns of population growth and change reflect differences among regions to attract and retain people both as producers and consumers in their economy. The following graphs offer a broad overview of trends in the pattern of population growth and change of North Carolina with comparisons to the nation at large. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 1. Figure 1 tracks North Carolina's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, North Carolina's population rose from 5,031,000 in 1969 to 10,698,973 in 2022, for a net gain of 5,667,973, or 112.66%. NOTE: The county and state population totals reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are from the Bureau of Census midyear (July 1) estimates. These estimates may differ from those prepared independently in some states by various agencies and/or universities. Population Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 portrays North Carolina's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's population in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the populations in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in population growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. North Carolina's overall population growth was 112.66% over 1969-2022 outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the United States Total: 1969-2022 Figure 3. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of North Carolina is to trace its individual percentage contributions to the United States' total population over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than the United States' population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, North Carolina's population totaled 2.50% of the United States' population, while in 2022 it equated to 3.21% thereby yielding a +0.71% share-shift.
North Carolina Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the short-run pattern of North Carolina's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average. On average, North Carolina's population grew at an annual rate of 1.43% over 1970-2022. The state recorded its highest growth in 2006 (2.43%) and posted its lowest growth in 2011 (0.74%). In 2022, North Carolina's population grew by 1.26% North Carolina Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 5. Over the past five decades some states have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 5 again shows the annual percent change in North Carolina's population since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, North Carolina's annual population growth rate averaged 1.44%. It averaged 1.24% during the 1980s, 1.93% during the 1990s, 1.74% throughout the 2000s, 0.93% throughout the 2010s, 1.04% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 6. Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for North Carolina noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for the nation. Relative to nationwide population growth trends, North Carolina outgained the nation over the 1970s (1.44% vs. 1.10%), topped the nation in the 1980s (1.24% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation over the 1990s (1.93% vs. 1.23%), led the nation over the 2000s (1.74% vs. 0.95%), led the nation during the 2010s (0.93% vs. 0.74%), and recorded above the nation over 2020-2022 (1.04% vs. 0.31%).
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