Clatsop County vs. Oregon Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Clatsop County: 2022 Population = 41,695 2022 Percent of State = 0.98% Oregon: 2022 Population = 4,240,137 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.27% 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 Clatsop County with comparisons to Oregon and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Clatsop County vs. Oregon'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 Clatsop County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Clatsop County's population rose from 27,905 in 1969 to 41,695 in 2022, for a net gain of 13,790, or 49.42%. 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 Oregon's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Oregon's population rose from 2,062,000 in 1969 to 4,240,137 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,178,137, or 105.63%. 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 Clatsop County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Oregon, 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. Clatsop County's overall population growth was 49.42% over 1969-2022 trailed Oregon's increase of 105.63%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Oregon Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Clatsop County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Oregon's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Oregon's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Clatsop County's population totaled 1.35% of Oregon's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.98% thereby yielding a -0.37% share-shift.
Clatsop County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Clatsop 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 traced 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, Clatsop County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.76% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1978 (3.23%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1984 (-0.98%). In 2022, Clatsop County's population declined by -0.53% Clatsop 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 Clatsop 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, Clatsop County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.46%. It averaged 0.25% during the 1980s, 0.79% throughout the 1990s, 0.35% in the 2000s, 0.99% throughout the 2010s, 0.73% 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 Clatsop County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Oregon and the nation. As the chart reveals, Clatsop County's average annual population growth amounted to less than Oregon's average throughout the 1970s (1.46% vs. 2.26%), recorded under Oregon's average in the 1980s (0.25% vs. 0.80%), trailed Oregon's average in the 1990s (0.79% vs. 1.98%), amounted to less than Oregon's average in the 2000s (0.35% vs. 1.16%), amounted to less than Oregon's average throughout the 2010s (0.99% vs. 1.02%), and outgained Oregon's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.73% vs. 0.19%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Clatsop County exceeded the nation throughout the 1970s (1.46% vs. 1.10%), lagged the nation over the 1980s (0.25% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation over the 1990s (0.79% vs. 1.23%), posted below the nation during the 2000s (0.35% vs. 0.95%), registered above the nation in the 2010s (0.99% vs. 0.74%), and topped the nation over 2020-2022 (0.73% vs. 0.31%).
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