Ohio County vs. West Virginia
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Ohio County vs. West Virginia
Ohio County:
2022 Population = 41,447
2022 Percent of State = 2.33%
West Virginia:
2022 Population = 1,775,156
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.53%
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 Ohio County with comparisons to West Virginia and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Ohio County vs. West Virginia'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
Population, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 tracks Ohio County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Ohio County's population dropped from 62,902 in 1969 to 41,447 in 2022, for a net loss of -21,455, or -34.11%.
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
Population, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 traces West Virginia's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, West Virginia's population rose from 1,746,000 in 1969 to 1,775,156 in 2022, for a net gain of 29,156, or 1.67%.
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
Population Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 portrays Ohio County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with West Virginia, 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.
Ohio County's overall population growth was -34.11% over 1969-2022 trailed West Virginia's increase of 1.67%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%.
Population as a Percent of the West Virginia Total: 1969-2022
Population as a Percent of the West Virginia Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of Ohio County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to West Virginia's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than West Virginia's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Ohio County's population totaled 3.60% of West Virginia's population, while in 2022 it comprised 2.33% thereby yielding a -1.27% share-shift.
   
 
Population Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
-1.27%
=
2.33%
-
3.60%
 
   
Ohio County Population:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Ohio County Population:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Ohio 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, Ohio County's population contracted at an annual rate of -0.78% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1971 (1.28%) and posted its lowest growth in 1986 (-2.61%). In 2022, Ohio County's population declined by -1.03%
Ohio County Population:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Ohio 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 traces the annual percent change in Ohio 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, Ohio County's annual population growth rate averaged -0.16%. It averaged -1.78% throughout the 1980s, -0.80% during the 1990s, -0.73% in the 2000s, -0.40% during the 2010s, -0.93% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Population Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Population Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Ohio County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for West Virginia and the nation. As the chart reveals, Ohio County's average annual population growth trailed West Virginia's average during the 1970s (-0.16% vs. 1.06%), lagged West Virginia's average in the 1980s (-1.78% vs. -0.70%), amounted to less than West Virginia's average in the 1990s (-0.80% vs. 0.03%), lagged West Virginia's average during the 2000s (-0.73% vs. 0.20%), lagged West Virginia's average during the 2010s (-0.40% vs. -0.26%), and recorded under West Virginia's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.93% vs. -0.47%).
Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Ohio County fell below the nation in the 1970s (-0.16% vs. 1.10%), lagged the nation over the 1980s (-1.78% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation during the 1990s (-0.80% vs. 1.23%), fell under the nation during the 2000s (-0.73% vs. 0.95%), fell under the nation during the 2010s (-0.40% vs. 0.74%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.93% vs. 0.31%).
   
 
Population Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
-0.78
-0.16
-1.78
-0.80
-0.73
-0.40
-0.93
-1.03
 
0.03
1.06
-0.70
0.03
0.20
-0.26
-0.47
-0.58
 
0.96
1.10
0.95
1.23
0.95
0.74
0.31
0.38
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Ohio County:
Population, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
62,902
100.0
N
3.60
1970
 
63,448
100.9
0.87
3.63
1971
 
64,261
102.2
1.28
3.63
1972
 
64,178
102.0
-0.13
3.57
1973
 
63,763
101.4
-0.65
3.53
1974
 
62,858
99.9
-1.42
3.47
1975
 
62,371
99.2
-0.77
3.39
1976
 
62,912
100.0
0.87
3.35
1977
 
62,430
99.2
-0.77
3.28
1978
 
62,306
99.1
-0.20
3.24
1979
 
61,907
98.4
-0.64
3.19
1980
 
61,344
97.5
-0.91
3.14
1981
 
61,111
97.2
-0.38
3.13
1982
 
60,094
95.5
-1.66
3.08
1983
 
58,924
93.7
-1.95
3.03
1984
 
57,430
91.3
-2.54
2.98
1985
 
55,967
89.0
-2.55
2.94
1986
 
54,509
86.7
-2.61
2.90
1987
 
53,493
85.0
-1.86
2.88
1988
 
52,634
83.7
-1.61
2.88
1989
 
51,732
82.2
-1.71
2.86
1990
 
50,767
80.7
-1.87
2.83
1991
 
50,345
80.0
-0.83
2.80
1992
 
50,393
80.1
0.10
2.79
1993
 
50,214
79.8
-0.36
2.76
1994
 
49,936
79.4
-0.55
2.74
1995
 
49,601
78.9
-0.67
2.72
1996
 
49,199
78.2
-0.81
2.70
1997
 
48,495
77.1
-1.43
2.67
1998
 
48,133
76.5
-0.75
2.65
1999
 
47,743
75.9
-0.81
2.64
2000
 
47,343
75.3
-0.84
2.62
2001
 
46,636
74.1
-1.49
2.59
2002
 
46,259
73.5
-0.81
2.56
2003
 
45,711
72.7
-1.18
2.52
2004
 
45,424
72.2
-0.63
2.50
2005
 
45,113
71.7
-0.68
2.48
2006
 
44,925
71.4
-0.42
2.46
2007
 
44,714
71.1
-0.47
2.44
2008
 
44,469
70.7
-0.55
2.42
2009
 
44,355
70.5
-0.26
2.40
2010
 
44,505
70.8
0.34
2.40
2011
 
44,358
70.5
-0.33
2.39
2012
 
44,271
70.4
-0.20
2.38
2013
 
44,126
70.2
-0.33
2.38
2014
 
43,752
69.6
-0.85
2.36
2015
 
43,600
69.3
-0.35
2.36
2016
 
43,348
68.9
-0.58
2.36
2017
 
42,859
68.1
-1.13
2.35
2018
 
42,736
67.9
-0.29
2.36
2019
 
42,626
67.8
-0.26
2.37
2020
 
42,338
67.3
-0.68
2.36
2021
 
41,878
66.6
-1.09
2.35
2022
 
41,447
65.9
-1.03
2.33
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
West Virginia:
Population, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
1,746,000
100.0
N
0.87
1970
 
1,746,629
100.0
0.04
0.86
1971
 
1,770,252
101.4
1.35
0.86
1972
 
1,796,910
102.9
1.51
0.86
1973
 
1,805,293
103.4
0.47
0.85
1974
 
1,814,048
103.9
0.48
0.85
1975
 
1,840,548
105.4
1.46
0.85
1976
 
1,877,440
107.5
2.00
0.86
1977
 
1,905,628
109.1
1.50
0.87
1978
 
1,920,342
110.0
0.77
0.86
1979
 
1,939,062
111.1
0.97
0.86
1980
 
1,951,349
111.8
0.63
0.86
1981
 
1,954,125
111.9
0.14
0.85
1982
 
1,949,605
111.7
-0.23
0.84
1983
 
1,945,058
111.4
-0.23
0.83
1984
 
1,927,696
110.4
-0.89
0.82
1985
 
1,906,831
109.2
-1.08
0.80
1986
 
1,882,352
107.8
-1.28
0.78
1987
 
1,857,583
106.4
-1.32
0.77
1988
 
1,830,213
104.8
-1.47
0.75
1989
 
1,806,570
103.5
-1.29
0.73
1990
 
1,792,548
102.7
-0.78
0.72
1991
 
1,798,735
103.0
0.35
0.71
1992
 
1,806,451
103.5
0.43
0.70
1993
 
1,817,539
104.1
0.61
0.70
1994
 
1,820,421
104.3
0.16
0.69
1995
 
1,823,700
104.5
0.18
0.68
1996
 
1,822,808
104.4
-0.05
0.68
1997
 
1,819,113
104.2
-0.20
0.67
1998
 
1,815,609
104.0
-0.19
0.66
1999
 
1,811,799
103.8
-0.21
0.65
2000
 
1,807,021
103.5
-0.26
0.64
2001
 
1,801,481
103.2
-0.31
0.63
2002
 
1,805,414
103.4
0.22
0.63
2003
 
1,812,295
103.8
0.38
0.62
2004
 
1,816,438
104.0
0.23
0.62
2005
 
1,820,492
104.3
0.22
0.62
2006
 
1,827,912
104.7
0.41
0.61
2007
 
1,834,052
105.0
0.34
0.61
2008
 
1,840,310
105.4
0.34
0.61
2009
 
1,847,775
105.8
0.41
0.60
2010
 
1,854,409
106.2
0.36
0.60
2011
 
1,857,326
106.4
0.16
0.60
2012
 
1,858,745
106.5
0.08
0.59
2013
 
1,856,642
106.3
-0.11
0.59
2014
 
1,853,014
106.1
-0.20
0.58
2015
 
1,846,341
105.7
-0.36
0.57
2016
 
1,835,998
105.2
-0.56
0.57
2017
 
1,822,785
104.4
-0.72
0.56
2018
 
1,810,588
103.7
-0.67
0.55
2019
 
1,800,430
103.1
-0.56
0.55
2020
 
1,791,420
102.6
-0.50
0.54
2021
 
1,785,526
102.3
-0.33
0.54
2022
 
1,775,156
101.7
-0.58
0.53
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Population, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
201,298,000
100.0
N
1970
 
203,798,722
101.2
1.24
1971
 
206,817,509
102.7
1.48
1972
 
209,274,882
104.0
1.19
1973
 
211,349,205
105.0
0.99
1974
 
213,333,635
106.0
0.94
1975
 
215,456,585
107.0
1.00
1976
 
217,553,859
108.1
0.97
1977
 
219,760,875
109.2
1.01
1978
 
222,098,244
110.3
1.06
1979
 
224,568,579
111.6
1.11
1980
 
227,224,719
112.9
1.18
1981
 
229,465,744
114.0
0.99
1982
 
231,664,432
115.1
0.96
1983
 
233,792,014
116.1
0.92
1984
 
235,824,907
117.2
0.87
1985
 
237,923,734
118.2
0.89
1986
 
240,132,831
119.3
0.93
1987
 
242,288,936
120.4
0.90
1988
 
244,499,004
121.5
0.91
1989
 
246,819,222
122.6
0.95
1990
 
249,622,814
124.0
1.14
1991
 
252,980,941
125.7
1.35
1992
 
256,514,224
127.4
1.40
1993
 
259,918,588
129.1
1.33
1994
 
263,125,821
130.7
1.23
1995
 
266,278,393
132.3
1.20
1996
 
269,394,284
133.8
1.17
1997
 
272,646,925
135.4
1.21
1998
 
275,854,104
137.0
1.18
1999
 
279,040,168
138.6
1.15
2000
 
282,162,411
140.2
1.12
2001
 
284,968,955
141.6
0.99
2002
 
287,625,193
142.9
0.93
2003
 
290,107,933
144.1
0.86
2004
 
292,805,298
145.5
0.93
2005
 
295,516,599
146.8
0.93
2006
 
298,379,912
148.2
0.97
2007
 
301,231,207
149.6
0.96
2008
 
304,093,966
151.1
0.95
2009
 
306,771,529
152.4
0.88
2010
 
309,378,433
153.7
0.85
2011
 
311,841,632
154.9
0.80
2012
 
314,344,331
156.2
0.80
2013
 
316,735,375
157.3
0.76
2014
 
319,270,047
158.6
0.80
2015
 
321,829,327
159.9
0.80
2016
 
324,367,742
161.1
0.79
2017
 
326,623,063
162.3
0.70
2018
 
328,542,157
163.2
0.59
2019
 
330,233,102
164.1
0.51
2020
 
331,511,512
164.7
0.39
2021
 
332,031,554
164.9
0.16
2022
 
333,287,557
165.6
0.38
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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