Del Norte County vs. California Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Del Norte County: 2022 Population = 27,082 2022 Percent of State = 0.07% California: 2022 Population = 39,029,342 2022 Percent of U.S. = 11.71% 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 Del Norte County with comparisons to California and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Del Norte County vs. California'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 Del Norte County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Del Norte County's population rose from 14,224 in 1969 to 27,082 in 2022, for a net gain of 12,858, or 90.40%. 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 California's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, California's population rose from 19,711,000 in 1969 to 39,029,342 in 2022, for a net gain of 19,318,342, or 98.01%. 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 Del Norte County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with California, 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. Del Norte County's overall population growth was 90.40% over 1969-2022 trailed California's increase of 98.01%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the California Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Del Norte County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to California's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than California's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Del Norte County's population totaled 0.07% of California's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.07% thereby yielding a 0.00% share-shift.
Del Norte County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Del Norte 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, Del Norte County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.26% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1990 (12.77%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2014 (-2.39%). In 2022, Del Norte County's population declined by -1.71% Del Norte 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 traces the annual percent change in Del Norte 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, Del Norte County's annual population growth rate averaged 2.34%. It averaged 1.75% throughout the 1980s, 2.77% during the 1990s, 0.35% throughout the 2000s, -0.33% in the 2010s, -0.70% 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 Del Norte County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, Del Norte County's average annual population growth led California's average in the 1970s (2.34% vs. 1.67%), lagged California's average during the 1980s (1.75% vs. 2.31%), registered above California's average during the 1990s (2.77% vs. 1.38%), posted below California's average during the 2000s (0.35% vs. 0.99%), fell below California's average in the 2010s (-0.33% vs. 0.68%), and amounted to less than California's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.70% vs. -0.44%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Del Norte County outperformed the nation throughout the 1970s (2.34% vs. 1.10%), surpassed the nation over the 1980s (1.75% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation during the 1990s (2.77% vs. 1.23%), lagged the nation over the 2000s (0.35% vs. 0.95%), fell below the nation in the 2010s (-0.33% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.70% vs. 0.31%).
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