Lawrence County vs. Indiana Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Lawrence County: 2022 Population = 45,222 2022 Percent of State = 0.66% Indiana: 2022 Population = 6,833,037 2022 Percent of U.S. = 2.05% 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 Lawrence County with comparisons to Indiana and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Lawrence County vs. Indiana'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 Lawrence County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Lawrence County's population rose from 37,944 in 1969 to 45,222 in 2022, for a net gain of 7,278, or 19.18%. 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 Indiana's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Indiana's population rose from 5,143,000 in 1969 to 6,833,037 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,690,037, or 32.86%. 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 Lawrence County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Indiana, 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. Lawrence County's overall population growth was 19.18% over 1969-2022 trailed Indiana's increase of 32.86%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Indiana Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Lawrence County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Indiana's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Indiana's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Lawrence County's population comprised 0.74% of Indiana's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.66% thereby yielding a -0.08% share-shift.
Lawrence County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Lawrence 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, Lawrence County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.33% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1971 (2.93%) and posted its lowest growth in 1982 (-0.78%). In 2022, Lawrence County's population grew by 0.39% Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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, Lawrence County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.09%. It averaged 0.07% in the 1980s, 0.74% during the 1990s, 0.07% in the 2000s, -0.25% during the 2010s, 0.15% 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 Lawrence County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Indiana and the nation. As the chart reveals, Lawrence County's average annual population growth outpaced Indiana's average in the 1970s (1.09% vs. 0.63%), posted below Indiana's average throughout the 1980s (0.07% vs. 0.09%), amounted to less than Indiana's average during the 1990s (0.74% vs. 0.91%), fell below Indiana's average during the 2000s (0.07% vs. 0.67%), posted below Indiana's average in the 2010s (-0.25% vs. 0.46%), and amounted to less than Indiana's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.15% vs. 0.35%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Lawrence County recorded underneath the nation during the 1970s (1.09% vs. 1.10%), posted below the nation throughout the 1980s (0.07% vs. 0.95%), fell under the nation in the 1990s (0.74% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (0.07% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation in the 2010s (-0.25% vs. 0.74%), and lagged the nation over 2020-2022 (0.15% vs. 0.31%).
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