Preble County vs. Ohio Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Preble County: 2022 Population = 40,596 2022 Percent of State = 0.35% Ohio: 2022 Population = 11,756,058 2022 Percent of U.S. = 3.53% 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 Preble County with comparisons to Ohio and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Preble County vs. Ohio'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 Preble County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Preble County's population rose from 34,671 in 1969 to 40,596 in 2022, for a net gain of 5,925, or 17.09%. 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 Ohio's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Ohio's population rose from 10,563,000 in 1969 to 11,756,058 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,193,058, or 11.29%. 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 Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 shows Preble County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Ohio, 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. Preble County's overall population growth was 17.09% over 1969-2022 outpaced Ohio's increase of 11.29%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Ohio Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Preble County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Ohio's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Ohio's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Preble County's population totaled 0.33% of Ohio's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.35% thereby yielding a +0.02% share-shift.
Preble County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Preble 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, Preble County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.30% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1971 (2.51%) and posted its lowest growth in 1973 (-0.95%). In 2022, Preble County's population declined by -0.73% Preble 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 illustrates the annual percent change in Preble County's population since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, Preble County's annual population growth rate averaged 0.88%. It averaged 0.57% during the 1980s, 0.57% throughout the 1990s, 0.01% throughout the 2000s, -0.35% in the 2010s, -0.31% 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 Preble County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Ohio and the nation. As the chart reveals, Preble County's average annual population growth outpaced Ohio's average throughout the 1970s (0.88% vs. 0.22%), topped Ohio's average throughout the 1980s (0.57% vs. 0.03%), exceeded Ohio's average during the 1990s (0.57% vs. 0.46%), lagged Ohio's average in the 2000s (0.01% vs. 0.17%), lagged Ohio's average throughout the 2010s (-0.35% vs. 0.22%), and fell below Ohio's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.31% vs. -0.09%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Preble County recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1970s (0.88% vs. 1.10%), trailed the nation over the 1980s (0.57% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation in the 1990s (0.57% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation during the 2000s (0.01% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation over the 2010s (-0.35% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.31% vs. 0.31%).
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