Stokes County vs. North Carolina Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Stokes County: 2022 Population = 45,175 2022 Percent of State = 0.42% North Carolina: 2022 Population = 10,698,973 2022 Percent of U.S. = 3.21% 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 Stokes County with comparisons to North Carolina and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Stokes County vs. North Carolina's population growth over 1969-2022. 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 traces Stokes County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Stokes County's population rose from 24,040 in 1969 to 45,175 in 2022, for a net gain of 21,135, or 87.92%. 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, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 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 3. Figure 3 shows Stokes County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with North Carolina, 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. Stokes County's overall population growth was 87.92% over 1969-2022 trailed North Carolina's increase of 112.66%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the North Carolina Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Stokes County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to North Carolina's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than North Carolina's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Stokes County's population comprised 0.48% of North Carolina's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.42% thereby yielding a -0.06% share-shift.
Stokes County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Stokes County'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, Stokes County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.21% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1972 (5.02%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2012 (-1.13%). In 2022, Stokes County's population grew by 1.20% Stokes County Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again depicts the annual percent change in Stokes County'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, Stokes County's annual population growth rate averaged 2.96%. It averaged 1.36% during the 1980s, 1.86% in the 1990s, 0.69% throughout the 2000s, -0.63% throughout the 2010s, 0.49% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 7. Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Stokes County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for North Carolina and the nation. As the chart reveals, Stokes County's average annual population growth topped North Carolina's average during the 1970s (2.96% vs. 1.44%), led North Carolina's average during the 1980s (1.36% vs. 1.24%), fell below North Carolina's average during the 1990s (1.86% vs. 1.93%), amounted to less than North Carolina's average in the 2000s (0.69% vs. 1.74%), posted below North Carolina's average in the 2010s (-0.63% vs. 0.93%), and fell below North Carolina's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.49% vs. 1.04%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Stokes County recorded above the nation during the 1970s (2.96% vs. 1.10%), outpaced the nation during the 1980s (1.36% vs. 0.95%), exceeded the nation throughout the 1990s (1.86% vs. 1.23%), lagged the nation throughout the 2000s (0.69% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation in the 2010s (-0.63% vs. 0.74%), and surpassed the nation over 2020-2022 (0.49% vs. 0.31%).
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