DeKalb County vs. Alabama Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction DeKalb County: 2022 Population = 71,998 2022 Percent of State = 1.42% Alabama: 2022 Population = 5,074,296 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.52% 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 DeKalb County with comparisons to Alabama and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing DeKalb County vs. Alabama'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 DeKalb County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, DeKalb County's population rose from 42,521 in 1969 to 71,998 in 2022, for a net gain of 29,477, or 69.32%. 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 Alabama's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Alabama's population rose from 3,440,000 in 1969 to 5,074,296 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,634,296, or 47.51%. 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 shows DeKalb 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. DeKalb County's overall population growth was 69.32% over 1969-2022 outpaced Alabama's increase of 47.51%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Alabama Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of DeKalb 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, DeKalb County's population totaled 1.24% of Alabama's population, while in 2022 it equated to 1.42% thereby yielding a +0.18% share-shift.
DeKalb County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of DeKalb 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, DeKalb County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.00% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1975 (4.33%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1982 (-0.87%). In 2022, DeKalb County's population grew by 0.24% DeKalb 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 DeKalb 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, DeKalb County's annual population growth rate averaged 2.33%. It averaged 0.18% during the 1980s, 1.56% in the 1990s, 1.09% in the 2000s, 0.09% throughout the 2010s, 0.22% 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 DeKalb County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Alabama and the nation. As the chart reveals, DeKalb County's average annual population growth outpaced Alabama's average during the 1970s (2.33% vs. 1.18%), lagged Alabama's average throughout the 1980s (0.18% vs. 0.41%), led Alabama's average in the 1990s (1.56% vs. 0.95%), recorded above Alabama's average throughout the 2000s (1.09% vs. 0.72%), fell below Alabama's average in the 2010s (0.09% vs. 0.50%), and lagged Alabama's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.22% vs. 0.47%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, DeKalb County topped the nation in the 1970s (2.33% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation in the 1980s (0.18% vs. 0.95%), outperformed the nation in the 1990s (1.56% vs. 1.23%), recorded above the nation in the 2000s (1.09% vs. 0.95%), fell under the nation during the 2010s (0.09% vs. 0.74%), and trailed the nation over 2020-2022 (0.22% vs. 0.31%).
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