Southern Nevada vs. Nevada Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Southern Nevada: 2022 Population = 2,382,949 2022 Percent of State = 74.99% 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 Southern Nevada with comparisons to Nevada and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Southern Nevada 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 Southern Nevada's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Southern Nevada's population rose from 276,167 in 1969 to 2,382,949 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,106,782, or 762.87%. 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 Southern Nevada'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. Southern Nevada's overall population growth was 762.87% over 1969-2022 outpaced 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 comparing the population growth of Southern Nevada is to trace 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, Southern Nevada's population totaled 57.53% of Nevada's population, while in 2022 it comprised 74.99% thereby yielding a +17.45% share-shift.
Southern Nevada Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Southern Nevada'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, Southern Nevada's population grew at an annual rate of 4.17% over 1970-2022. Southern Nevada recorded its highest growth in 1990 (9.29%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2011 (0.31%). In 2022, Southern Nevada's population grew by 1.25% Southern Nevada Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some geographical regions 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 Southern Nevada'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, Southern Nevada's annual population growth rate averaged 5.10%. It averaged 4.63% in the 1980s, 6.66% throughout the 1990s, 3.90% throughout the 2000s, 1.43% throughout the 2010s, 1.29% 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 Southern Nevada noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Nevada and the nation. As the chart reveals, Southern Nevada's average annual population growth outgained Nevada's average throughout the 1970s (5.10% vs. 4.78%), outperformed Nevada's average throughout the 1980s (4.63% vs. 4.05%), led Nevada's average during the 1990s (6.66% vs. 5.46%), led Nevada's average throughout the 2000s (3.90% vs. 3.33%), outpaced Nevada's average during the 2010s (1.43% vs. 1.35%), and outperformed Nevada's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.29% vs. 1.17%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Southern Nevada topped the nation in the 1970s (5.10% vs. 1.10%), recorded above the nation during the 1980s (4.63% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation throughout the 1990s (6.66% vs. 1.23%), surpassed the nation throughout the 2000s (3.90% vs. 0.95%), outperformed the nation in the 2010s (1.43% vs. 0.74%), and surpassed the nation over 2020-2022 (1.29% vs. 0.31%).
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