Elko County vs. Nevada Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Elko County: 2022 Population = 54,046 2022 Percent of State = 1.70% Nevada: 2022 Population = 3,177,772 2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.95% 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 Elko County with comparisons to Nevada and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Elko County vs. Nevada'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 Elko County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Elko County's population rose from 13,979 in 1969 to 54,046 in 2022, for a net gain of 40,067, or 286.62%. 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, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 traces Nevada's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Nevada's population rose from 480,000 in 1969 to 3,177,772 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,697,772, or 562.04%. 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 Elko County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Nevada, 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. Elko County's overall population growth was 286.62% over 1969-2022 trailed Nevada's increase of 562.04%, and topped the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Nevada Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Elko County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Nevada's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Nevada's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Elko County's population totaled 2.91% of Nevada's population, while in 2022 it comprised 1.70% thereby yielding a -1.21% share-shift.
Elko County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Elko 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, Elko County's population grew at an annual rate of 2.64% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1989 (14.25%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2002 (-1.98%). In 2022, Elko County's population grew by 0.44% Elko 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 depicts the annual percent change in Elko 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, Elko County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.43%. It averaged 6.82% in the 1980s, 3.90% throughout the 1990s, 0.72% in the 2000s, 1.01% in the 2010s, 0.31% 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 Elko County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Nevada and the nation. As the chart reveals, Elko County's average annual population growth trailed Nevada's average throughout the 1970s (1.43% vs. 4.78%), outperformed Nevada's average in the 1980s (6.82% vs. 4.05%), recorded under Nevada's average in the 1990s (3.90% vs. 5.46%), recorded under Nevada's average during the 2000s (0.72% vs. 3.33%), fell below Nevada's average throughout the 2010s (1.01% vs. 1.35%), and posted below Nevada's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.31% vs. 1.17%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Elko County outgained the nation throughout the 1970s (1.43% vs. 1.10%), topped the nation during the 1980s (6.82% vs. 0.95%), outperformed the nation over the 1990s (3.90% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (0.72% vs. 0.95%), outpaced the nation over the 2010s (1.01% vs. 0.74%), and registered above the nation over 2020-2022 (0.31% vs. 0.31%).
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