Ohio County vs. West Virginia Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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%).
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