Elbert County vs. Colorado Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Elbert County: 2022 Population = 27,799 2022 Percent of State = 0.48% Colorado: 2022 Population = 5,839,926 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.75% 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 Elbert County with comparisons to Colorado and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Elbert County vs. Colorado'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 Elbert County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Elbert County's population rose from 3,943 in 1969 to 27,799 in 2022, for a net gain of 23,856, or 605.02%. 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 Colorado's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Colorado's population rose from 2,166,000 in 1969 to 5,839,926 in 2022, for a net gain of 3,673,926, or 169.62%. 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 Elbert County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Colorado, 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. Elbert County's overall population growth was 605.02% over 1969-2022 outpaced Colorado's increase of 169.62%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Colorado Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Elbert County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Colorado's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Colorado's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Elbert County's population comprised 0.18% of Colorado's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.48% thereby yielding a +0.29% share-shift.
Elbert County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Elbert 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, Elbert County's population grew at an annual rate of 3.81% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1973 (14.65%) and posted its lowest growth in 1970 (-0.48%). In 2022, Elbert County's population grew by 2.45% Elbert 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 Elbert 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, Elbert County's annual population growth rate averaged 4.73%. It averaged 4.17% during the 1980s, 7.54% throughout the 1990s, 1.84% during the 2000s, 1.14% during the 2010s, 2.63% 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 Elbert County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Colorado and the nation. As the chart reveals, Elbert County's average annual population growth recorded above Colorado's average throughout the 1970s (4.73% vs. 2.78%), recorded above Colorado's average throughout the 1980s (4.17% vs. 1.41%), outgained Colorado's average throughout the 1990s (7.54% vs. 2.58%), topped Colorado's average throughout the 2000s (1.84% vs. 1.64%), posted below Colorado's average during the 2010s (1.14% vs. 1.44%), and topped Colorado's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (2.63% vs. 0.60%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Elbert County outgained the nation over the 1970s (4.73% vs. 1.10%), surpassed the nation during the 1980s (4.17% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation during the 1990s (7.54% vs. 1.23%), registered above the nation over the 2000s (1.84% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation during the 2010s (1.14% vs. 0.74%), and topped the nation over 2020-2022 (2.63% vs. 0.31%).
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