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 Baldwin County with comparisons to Alabama and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Baldwin County vs. Alabama's population growth over 1969-2020. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Figure 1 traces Baldwin County's annual population for the period 1969-2020 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 52-year period, Baldwin County's population rose from 56,951 in 1969 to 229,287 in 2020, for a net gain of 172,336, or 302.6%.

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.

Figure 2 traces Alabama's annual population for the period 1969-2020 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 52-year period, Alabama's population rose from 3,440,000 in 1969 to 4,921,532 in 2020, for a net gain of 1,481,532, or 43.1%.

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.

Figure 3 shows Baldwin County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Alabama, 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.

Baldwin County's overall population growth was 302.6% over 1969-2020 outpaced Alabama's increase of 43.1%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 63.7%.

Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Baldwin County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Alabama's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Alabama's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, Baldwin County's population comprised 1.7% of Alabama's population, while in 2020 it totaled 4.7% thereby yielding a +3.0% share-shift.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Baldwin County's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2020. The average annual percent change for the entire 51-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, Baldwin County's population grew at an annual rate of 2.77% over 1970-2020. The county recorded its highest growth in 1994 (4.62%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1971 (1.12%). In 2020, Baldwin County's population grew by 2.56%

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 Baldwin County's population since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2020.

During the 1970s, Baldwin County's annual population growth rate averaged 3.01%. It averaged 2.31% in the 1980s, 3.64% during the 1990s, 2.69% throughout the 2000s, 2.23% throughout the 2010s, and 2.56% in 2020.

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Baldwin County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Alabama and the nation. As the chart reveals, Baldwin County's average annual population growth exceeded Alabama's average in the 1970s (3.01% vs. 1.18%), recorded above Alabama's average throughout the 1980s (2.31% vs. 0.41%), topped Alabama's average throughout the 1990s (3.64% vs. 0.95%), topped Alabama's average during the 2000s (2.69% vs. 0.72%), and registered above Alabama's average over the 10 year period of the last decade, 2010-2019 (2.23% vs. 0.31%). In 2020, Baldwin County's growth has surpassed Alabama's average (2.56% vs. 0.28%).

Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Baldwin County recorded above the nation over the 1970s (3.01% vs. 1.10%), registered above the nation throughout the 1980s (2.31% vs. 0.95%), outpaced the nation over the 1990s (3.64% vs. 1.23%), topped the nation over the 2000s (2.69% vs. 0.95%), and led the nation over 2010-2019 (2.23% vs. 0.68%). In 2020, growth for Baldwin County has registered above the national average (2.56% vs. 0.35%).