Perry County vs. Arkansas Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Perry County: 2022 Population = 10,063 2022 Percent of State = 0.33% Arkansas: 2022 Population = 3,045,637 2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.91% 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 Perry County with comparisons to Arkansas and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Perry County vs. Arkansas' 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 Perry County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Perry County's population rose from 5,571 in 1969 to 10,063 in 2022, for a net gain of 4,492, or 80.63%. 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, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 traces Arkansas' annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Arkansas' population rose from 1,913,000 in 1969 to 3,045,637 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,132,637, or 59.21%. 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 Perry County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Arkansas, 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. Perry County's overall population growth was 80.63% over 1969-2022 outpaced Arkansas' increase of 59.21%, and topped the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Arkansas Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Perry County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Arkansas' statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Arkansas' population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Perry County's population totaled 0.29% of Arkansas' population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.33% thereby yielding a +0.04% share-shift.
Perry County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Perry 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, Perry County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.14% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1972 (6.02%) and posted its lowest growth in 1980 (-3.35%). In 2022, Perry County's population grew by 0.74% Perry 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 depicts the annual percent change in Perry 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, Perry County's annual population growth rate averaged 3.09%. It averaged 0.56% in the 1980s, 2.41% throughout the 1990s, 0.34% in the 2000s, -0.32% throughout the 2010s, -0.17% 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 Perry County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Arkansas and the nation. As the chart reveals, Perry County's average annual population growth recorded above Arkansas' average during the 1970s (3.09% vs. 1.72%), recorded above Arkansas' average during the 1980s (0.56% vs. 0.34%), topped Arkansas' average in the 1990s (2.41% vs. 1.23%), amounted to less than Arkansas' average throughout the 2000s (0.34% vs. 0.89%), fell below Arkansas' average during the 2010s (-0.32% vs. 0.36%), and amounted to less than Arkansas' average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.17% vs. 0.46%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Perry County recorded above the nation throughout the 1970s (3.09% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation during the 1980s (0.56% vs. 0.95%), outgained the nation throughout the 1990s (2.41% vs. 1.23%), lagged the nation throughout the 2000s (0.34% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation over the 2010s (-0.32% vs. 0.74%), and fell under the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.17% vs. 0.31%).
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