Placer County vs. California Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction ![]() Placer County: 2022 Population = 418,074 2022 Percent of State = 1.07% California: 2022 Population = 39,040,616 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 Placer County with comparisons to California and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Placer 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 traces Placer County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Placer County's population rose from 75,693 in 1969 to 418,074 in 2022, for a net gain of 342,381, or 452.33%. 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 39,040,616 in 2022, for a net gain of 19,329,616, or 98.07%. 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 Placer 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. Placer County's overall population growth was 452.33% over 1969-2022 outpaced California's increase of 98.07%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.56%. Population as a Percent of the California Total: 1969-2022 ![]() Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Placer 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, Placer County's population comprised 0.38% of California's population, while in 2022 it comprised 1.07% thereby yielding a +0.69% share-shift.
Placer County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 ![]() Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Placer 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, Placer County's population grew at an annual rate of 3.29% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1978 (8.15%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2015 (1.05%). In 2022, Placer County's population grew by 1.22% Placer 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 shows the annual percent change in Placer 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, Placer County's annual population growth rate averaged 4.08%. It averaged 3.74% throughout the 1980s, 4.02% throughout the 1990s, 3.63% during the 2000s, 1.56% throughout the 2010s, 1.37% 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 Placer County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, Placer County's average annual population growth surpassed California's average during the 1970s (4.08% vs. 1.67%), surpassed California's average throughout the 1980s (3.74% vs. 2.31%), topped California's average in the 1990s (4.02% vs. 1.38%), registered above California's average in the 2000s (3.63% vs. 0.99%), recorded above California's average during the 2010s (1.56% vs. 0.68%), and outperformed California's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.37% vs. -0.43%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Placer County registered above the nation throughout the 1970s (4.08% vs. 1.10%), outgained the nation throughout the 1980s (3.74% vs. 0.95%), led the nation throughout the 1990s (4.02% vs. 1.23%), outpaced the nation over the 2000s (3.63% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation over the 2010s (1.56% vs. 0.74%), and recorded above the nation over 2020-2022 (1.37% vs. 0.31%).
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