Reno MSA vs. Nevada Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Reno MSA: 2022 Population = 500,915 2022 Percent of State = 0.17% 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 the Reno MSA with comparisons to Nevada and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the Reno MSA 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 the Reno MSA's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the Reno MSA's population rose from 119,081 in 1969 to 500,915 in 2022, for a net gain of 381,834, or 320.65%. 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 the Reno MSA'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. The Reno MSA's overall population growth was 320.65% 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 contrasting the population growth of the Reno MSA 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, the Reno MSA's population totaled 24.81% of Nevada's population, while in 2022 it totaled 15.76% thereby yielding a -9.05% share-shift.
Reno MSA Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of the Reno MSA'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, the Reno MSA's population grew at an annual rate of 2.76% over 1970-2022. The Reno MSA posted its highest growth in 1978 (5.86%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2022 (0.50%). In 2022, the Reno MSA's population grew by 0.50% Reno MSA Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some msas 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 the Reno MSA'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, the Reno MSA's annual population growth rate averaged 4.70%. It averaged 2.90% in the 1980s, 2.98% in the 1990s, 2.30% in the 2000s, 1.42% in the 2010s, 1.04% 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 the Reno MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Nevada and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Reno MSA's average annual population growth fell below Nevada's average during the 1970s (4.70% vs. 4.78%), trailed Nevada's average throughout the 1980s (2.90% vs. 4.05%), trailed Nevada's average in the 1990s (2.98% vs. 5.46%), recorded under Nevada's average during the 2000s (2.30% vs. 3.33%), topped Nevada's average throughout the 2010s (1.42% vs. 1.35%), and amounted to less than Nevada's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.04% vs. 1.17%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the Reno MSA surpassed the nation throughout the 1970s (4.70% vs. 1.10%), exceeded the nation over the 1980s (2.90% vs. 0.95%), exceeded the nation over the 1990s (2.98% vs. 1.23%), outgained the nation in the 2000s (2.30% vs. 0.95%), recorded above the nation during the 2010s (1.42% vs. 0.74%), and registered above the nation over 2020-2022 (1.04% vs. 0.31%).
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