Schoolcraft County vs. Michigan Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Schoolcraft County: 2022 Population = 8,188 2022 Percent of State = 0.08% Michigan: 2022 Population = 10,034,113 2022 Percent of U.S. = 3.01% 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 Schoolcraft County with comparisons to Michigan and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Schoolcraft County vs. Michigan'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 Schoolcraft County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Schoolcraft County's population rose from 7,943 in 1969 to 8,188 in 2022, for a net gain of 245, or 3.08%. 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 tracks Michigan's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Michigan's population rose from 8,781,000 in 1969 to 10,034,113 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,253,113, or 14.27%. 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 Schoolcraft County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Michigan, 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. Schoolcraft County's overall population growth was 3.08% over 1969-2022 trailed Michigan's increase of 14.27%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Michigan Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Schoolcraft County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Michigan's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Michigan's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Schoolcraft County's population totaled 0.09% of Michigan's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.08% thereby yielding a -0.01% share-shift.
Schoolcraft County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Schoolcraft 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 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, Schoolcraft County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.07% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1970 (3.90%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2008 (-3.99%). In 2022, Schoolcraft County's population grew by 1.59% Schoolcraft 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 traces the annual percent change in Schoolcraft 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, Schoolcraft County's annual population growth rate averaged 0.92%. It averaged -0.49% in the 1980s, 0.71% during the 1990s, -0.42% throughout the 2000s, -0.55% in the 2010s, 0.67% 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 Schoolcraft County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Michigan and the nation. As the chart reveals, Schoolcraft County's average annual population growth led Michigan's average during the 1970s (0.92% vs. 0.52%), trailed Michigan's average during the 1980s (-0.49% vs. 0.01%), led Michigan's average during the 1990s (0.71% vs. 0.68%), amounted to less than Michigan's average throughout the 2000s (-0.42% vs. 0.01%), trailed Michigan's average in the 2010s (-0.55% vs. 0.18%), and exceeded Michigan's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.67% vs. -0.15%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Schoolcraft County trailed the nation over the 1970s (0.92% vs. 1.10%), recorded underneath the nation in the 1980s (-0.49% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation over the 1990s (0.71% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (-0.42% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation over the 2010s (-0.55% vs. 0.74%), and led the nation over 2020-2022 (0.67% vs. 0.31%).
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