Tucker County vs. West Virginia Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Tucker County: 2022 Population = 6,568 2022 Percent of State = 0.37% 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 Tucker County with comparisons to West Virginia and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Tucker 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 traces Tucker County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Tucker County's population dropped from 7,575 in 1969 to 6,568 in 2022, for a net loss of -1,007, or -13.29%. 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 Tucker 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. Tucker County's overall population growth was -13.29% 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 highlighting the population growth of Tucker County is to compare 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, Tucker County's population totaled 0.43% of West Virginia's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.37% thereby yielding a -0.06% share-shift.
Tucker County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Tucker 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, Tucker County's population contracted at an annual rate of -0.26% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1975 (4.34%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1986 (-4.14%). In 2022, Tucker County's population declined by -1.60% Tucker 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 shows the annual percent change in Tucker 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, Tucker County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.36%. It averaged -1.02% throughout the 1980s, -0.58% during the 1990s, -0.26% during the 2000s, -0.48% throughout the 2010s, -1.32% 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 Tucker County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for West Virginia and the nation. As the chart reveals, Tucker County's average annual population growth outgained West Virginia's average in the 1970s (1.36% vs. 1.06%), recorded under West Virginia's average during the 1980s (-1.02% vs. -0.70%), trailed West Virginia's average throughout the 1990s (-0.58% vs. 0.03%), recorded under West Virginia's average throughout the 2000s (-0.26% vs. 0.20%), amounted to less than West Virginia's average throughout the 2010s (-0.48% vs. -0.26%), and trailed West Virginia's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-1.32% vs. -0.47%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Tucker County outperformed the nation in the 1970s (1.36% vs. 1.10%), posted below the nation over the 1980s (-1.02% vs. 0.95%), fell below the nation in the 1990s (-0.58% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (-0.26% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation over the 2010s (-0.48% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-1.32% vs. 0.31%).
| Analysis Options Menu |