Wyoming County vs. Pennsylvania Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Wyoming County: 2022 Population = 26,014 2022 Percent of State = 0.20% Pennsylvania: 2022 Population = 12,972,008 2022 Percent of U.S. = 3.89% 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 Wyoming County with comparisons to Pennsylvania and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Wyoming County vs. Pennsylvania'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 tracks Wyoming County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Wyoming County's population rose from 18,835 in 1969 to 26,014 in 2022, for a net gain of 7,179, or 38.12%. 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 Pennsylvania's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Pennsylvania's population rose from 11,741,000 in 1969 to 12,972,008 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,231,008, or 10.48%. 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 Wyoming County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Pennsylvania, 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. Wyoming County's overall population growth was 38.12% over 1969-2022 outpaced Pennsylvania's increase of 10.48%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Pennsylvania Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of Wyoming County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Pennsylvania's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Pennsylvania's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Wyoming County's population comprised 0.16% of Pennsylvania's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.20% thereby yielding a +0.04% share-shift.
Wyoming County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Wyoming 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, Wyoming County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.63% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1971 (6.27%) and posted its lowest growth in 2015 (-1.46%). In 2022, Wyoming County's population declined by -0.33% Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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, Wyoming County's annual population growth rate averaged 3.46%. It averaged 0.56% in the 1980s, 0.13% during the 1990s, 0.00% throughout the 2000s, -0.72% throughout the 2010s, -0.36% 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 Wyoming County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Pennsylvania and the nation. As the chart reveals, Wyoming County's average annual population growth outperformed Pennsylvania's average during the 1970s (3.46% vs. 0.11%), recorded above Pennsylvania's average in the 1980s (0.56% vs. -0.01%), posted below Pennsylvania's average in the 1990s (0.13% vs. 0.33%), lagged Pennsylvania's average throughout the 2000s (0.00% vs. 0.32%), fell below Pennsylvania's average in the 2010s (-0.72% vs. 0.25%), and recorded under Pennsylvania's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.36% vs. -0.05%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Wyoming County surpassed the nation over the 1970s (3.46% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation throughout the 1980s (0.56% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation in the 1990s (0.13% vs. 1.23%), fell under the nation over the 2000s (0.00% vs. 0.95%), fell below the nation during the 2010s (-0.72% vs. 0.74%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.36% vs. 0.31%).
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