Mineral County vs. Colorado Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Mineral County: 2022 Population = 931 2022 Percent of State = 0.02% 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 Mineral County with comparisons to Colorado and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Mineral 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 Mineral County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Mineral County's population rose from 766 in 1969 to 931 in 2022, for a net gain of 165, or 21.54%. 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 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 Mineral 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. Mineral County's overall population growth was 21.54% over 1969-2022 trailed Colorado's increase of 169.62%, and fell below 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 contrasting the population growth of Mineral 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, Mineral County's population comprised 0.04% of Colorado's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.02% thereby yielding a -0.02% share-shift.
Mineral County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Mineral 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, Mineral County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.47% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1994 (8.21%) and posted its lowest growth in 1986 (-13.87%). In 2022, Mineral County's population grew by 0.22% Mineral 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 Mineral 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, Mineral County's annual population growth rate averaged 0.38%. It averaged -2.88% throughout the 1980s, 3.37% during the 1990s, -0.85% throughout the 2000s, 1.41% during the 2010s, 3.60% 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 Mineral County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Colorado and the nation. As the chart reveals, Mineral County's average annual population growth posted below Colorado's average during the 1970s (0.38% vs. 2.78%), lagged Colorado's average throughout the 1980s (-2.88% vs. 1.41%), led Colorado's average in the 1990s (3.37% vs. 2.58%), lagged Colorado's average throughout the 2000s (-0.85% vs. 1.64%), recorded under Colorado's average throughout the 2010s (1.41% vs. 1.44%), and surpassed Colorado's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.60% vs. 0.60%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Mineral County posted below the nation in the 1970s (0.38% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation over the 1980s (-2.88% vs. 0.95%), topped the nation throughout the 1990s (3.37% vs. 1.23%), posted below the nation throughout the 2000s (-0.85% vs. 0.95%), recorded above the nation in the 2010s (1.41% vs. 0.74%), and topped the nation over 2020-2022 (3.60% vs. 0.31%).
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