| Spencer County vs. Kentucky Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Spencer County: 2022 Population = 20,204 2022 Percent of State = 0.45% Kentucky: 2022 Population = 4,512,310 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.35% 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 Spencer County with comparisons to Kentucky and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Spencer County vs. Kentucky'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. Figure 1. Figure 1 tracks Spencer County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Spencer County's population rose from 5,503 in 1969 to 20,204 in 2022, for a net gain of 14,701, or 267.15%. 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. Figure 2. Figure 2 tracks Kentucky's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Kentucky's population rose from 3,198,000 in 1969 to 4,512,310 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,314,310, or 41.10%. 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. Figure 3. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Spencer County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Kentucky's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Kentucky's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Spencer County's population totaled 0.17% of Kentucky's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.45% thereby yielding a +0.28% share-shift. | | | | Population Share-Shift 2022 vs. 1969 | Share- Shift* | | 2022 | vs. | 1969 | | +0.28% | = | 0.45% | - | 0.17% |
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Figure 4. Figure 4 highlights the short-run pattern of Spencer 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, Spencer County's population grew at an annual rate of 2.51% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1999 (8.62%) and posted its lowest growth in 1980 (-2.50%). In 2022, Spencer County's population grew by 1.55% Figure 5. 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 5 again shows the annual percent change in Spencer County's population since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, Spencer County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.01%. It averaged 0.99% in the 1980s, 5.13% during the 1990s, 4.43% during the 2000s, 1.29% in the 2010s, 1.56% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | Spencer County: Population, 1969-2022 | | | | | | | 1969 | | 5,503 | 100.0 | N | 0.17 | 1970 | | 5,488 | 99.7 | -0.27 | 0.17 | 1971 | | 5,574 | 101.3 | 1.57 | 0.17 | 1972 | | 5,510 | 100.1 | -1.15 | 0.17 | 1973 | | 5,590 | 101.6 | 1.45 | 0.17 | 1974 | | 5,762 | 104.7 | 3.08 | 0.17 | 1975 | | 5,898 | 107.2 | 2.36 | 0.17 | 1976 | | 5,923 | 107.6 | 0.42 | 0.17 | 1977 | | 5,952 | 108.2 | 0.49 | 0.17 | 1978 | | 6,080 | 110.5 | 2.15 | 0.17 | 1979 | | 6,083 | 110.5 | 0.05 | 0.17 | 1980 | | 5,931 | 107.8 | -2.50 | 0.16 | 1981 | | 5,923 | 107.6 | -0.13 | 0.16 | 1982 | | 5,808 | 105.5 | -1.94 | 0.16 | 1983 | | 5,906 | 107.3 | 1.69 | 0.16 | 1984 | | 5,923 | 107.6 | 0.29 | 0.16 | 1985 | | 6,050 | 109.9 | 2.14 | 0.16 | 1986 | | 6,150 | 111.8 | 1.65 | 0.17 | 1987 | | 6,263 | 113.8 | 1.84 | 0.17 | 1988 | | 6,357 | 115.5 | 1.50 | 0.17 | 1989 | | 6,695 | 121.7 | 5.32 | 0.18 | 1990 | | 6,857 | 124.6 | 2.42 | 0.19 | 1991 | | 6,997 | 127.1 | 2.04 | 0.19 | 1992 | | 7,128 | 129.5 | 1.87 | 0.19 | 1993 | | 7,377 | 134.1 | 3.49 | 0.19 | 1994 | | 7,817 | 142.0 | 5.96 | 0.20 | 1995 | | 8,429 | 153.2 | 7.83 | 0.22 | 1996 | | 8,974 | 163.1 | 6.47 | 0.23 | 1997 | | 9,564 | 173.8 | 6.57 | 0.24 | 1998 | | 10,143 | 184.3 | 6.05 | 0.25 | 1999 | | 11,017 | 200.2 | 8.62 | 0.27 | 2000 | | 11,911 | 216.4 | 8.11 | 0.29 | 2001 | | 12,559 | 228.2 | 5.44 | 0.31 | 2002 | | 13,219 | 240.2 | 5.26 | 0.32 | 2003 | | 13,892 | 252.4 | 5.09 | 0.34 | 2004 | | 14,358 | 260.9 | 3.35 | 0.35 | 2005 | | 14,929 | 271.3 | 3.98 | 0.36 | 2006 | | 15,638 | 284.2 | 4.75 | 0.37 | 2007 | | 16,346 | 297.0 | 4.53 | 0.38 | 2008 | | 16,845 | 306.1 | 3.05 | 0.39 | 2009 | | 16,971 | 308.4 | 0.75 | 0.39 | 2010 | | 17,167 | 312.0 | 1.15 | 0.39 | 2011 | | 17,433 | 316.8 | 1.55 | 0.40 | 2012 | | 17,483 | 317.7 | 0.29 | 0.40 | 2013 | | 17,640 | 320.6 | 0.90 | 0.40 | 2014 | | 17,776 | 323.0 | 0.77 | 0.40 | 2015 | | 18,036 | 327.7 | 1.46 | 0.41 | 2016 | | 18,290 | 332.4 | 1.41 | 0.41 | 2017 | | 18,574 | 337.5 | 1.55 | 0.41 | 2018 | | 18,949 | 344.3 | 2.02 | 0.42 | 2019 | | 19,290 | 350.5 | 1.80 | 0.43 | 2020 | | 19,510 | 354.5 | 1.14 | 0.43 | 2021 | | 19,895 | 361.5 | 1.97 | 0.44 | 2022 | | 20,204 | 367.1 | 1.55 | 0.45 |
Source: Calculations by the Kentucky Regional Economic Analysis Project (KY-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PSN | | | | |
Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | Kentucky: Population, 1969-2022 | | | | | | | 1969 | | 3,198,000 | 100.0 | N | 1.59 | 1970 | | 3,230,587 | 101.0 | 1.02 | 1.59 | 1971 | | 3,298,262 | 103.1 | 2.09 | 1.59 | 1972 | | 3,336,106 | 104.3 | 1.15 | 1.59 | 1973 | | 3,371,573 | 105.4 | 1.06 | 1.60 | 1974 | | 3,417,039 | 106.8 | 1.35 | 1.60 | 1975 | | 3,468,755 | 108.5 | 1.51 | 1.61 | 1976 | | 3,530,443 | 110.4 | 1.78 | 1.62 | 1977 | | 3,575,001 | 111.8 | 1.26 | 1.63 | 1978 | | 3,611,382 | 112.9 | 1.02 | 1.63 | 1979 | | 3,643,655 | 113.9 | 0.89 | 1.62 | 1980 | | 3,664,221 | 114.6 | 0.56 | 1.61 | 1981 | | 3,670,395 | 114.8 | 0.17 | 1.60 | 1982 | | 3,683,449 | 115.2 | 0.36 | 1.59 | 1983 | | 3,694,469 | 115.5 | 0.30 | 1.58 | 1984 | | 3,695,459 | 115.6 | 0.03 | 1.57 | 1985 | | 3,694,816 | 115.5 | -0.02 | 1.55 | 1986 | | 3,687,805 | 115.3 | -0.19 | 1.54 | 1987 | | 3,683,330 | 115.2 | -0.12 | 1.52 | 1988 | | 3,680,002 | 115.1 | -0.09 | 1.51 | 1989 | | 3,677,318 | 115.0 | -0.07 | 1.49 | 1990 | | 3,694,048 | 115.5 | 0.45 | 1.48 | 1991 | | 3,722,328 | 116.4 | 0.77 | 1.47 | 1992 | | 3,765,469 | 117.7 | 1.16 | 1.47 | 1993 | | 3,812,206 | 119.2 | 1.24 | 1.47 | 1994 | | 3,849,088 | 120.4 | 0.97 | 1.46 | 1995 | | 3,887,427 | 121.6 | 1.00 | 1.46 | 1996 | | 3,919,535 | 122.6 | 0.83 | 1.45 | 1997 | | 3,952,747 | 123.6 | 0.85 | 1.45 | 1998 | | 3,985,390 | 124.6 | 0.83 | 1.44 | 1999 | | 4,018,053 | 125.6 | 0.82 | 1.44 | 2000 | | 4,049,021 | 126.6 | 0.77 | 1.43 | 2001 | | 4,068,132 | 127.2 | 0.47 | 1.43 | 2002 | | 4,089,875 | 127.9 | 0.53 | 1.42 | 2003 | | 4,117,170 | 128.7 | 0.67 | 1.42 | 2004 | | 4,146,101 | 129.6 | 0.70 | 1.42 | 2005 | | 4,182,742 | 130.8 | 0.88 | 1.42 | 2006 | | 4,219,239 | 131.9 | 0.87 | 1.41 | 2007 | | 4,256,672 | 133.1 | 0.89 | 1.41 | 2008 | | 4,289,878 | 134.1 | 0.78 | 1.41 | 2009 | | 4,317,074 | 135.0 | 0.63 | 1.41 | 2010 | | 4,349,138 | 136.0 | 0.74 | 1.41 | 2011 | | 4,374,212 | 136.8 | 0.58 | 1.40 | 2012 | | 4,394,010 | 137.4 | 0.45 | 1.40 | 2013 | | 4,415,821 | 138.1 | 0.50 | 1.39 | 2014 | | 4,428,679 | 138.5 | 0.29 | 1.39 | 2015 | | 4,443,606 | 138.9 | 0.34 | 1.38 | 2016 | | 4,457,599 | 139.4 | 0.31 | 1.37 | 2017 | | 4,475,723 | 140.0 | 0.41 | 1.37 | 2018 | | 4,487,233 | 140.3 | 0.26 | 1.37 | 2019 | | 4,498,141 | 140.7 | 0.24 | 1.36 | 2020 | | 4,507,445 | 140.9 | 0.21 | 1.36 | 2021 | | 4,506,589 | 140.9 | -0.02 | 1.36 | 2022 | | 4,512,310 | 141.1 | 0.13 | 1.35 |
Source: Calculations by the Kentucky Regional Economic Analysis Project (KY-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PSN | | | | |
Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | United States: Population, 1969-2022 | | | | | | 1969 | | 201,298,000 | 100.0 | N | 1970 | | 203,798,722 | 101.2 | 1.24 | 1971 | | 206,817,509 | 102.7 | 1.48 | 1972 | | 209,274,882 | 104.0 | 1.19 | 1973 | | 211,349,205 | 105.0 | 0.99 | 1974 | | 213,333,635 | 106.0 | 0.94 | 1975 | | 215,456,585 | 107.0 | 1.00 | 1976 | | 217,553,859 | 108.1 | 0.97 | 1977 | | 219,760,875 | 109.2 | 1.01 | 1978 | | 222,098,244 | 110.3 | 1.06 | 1979 | | 224,568,579 | 111.6 | 1.11 | 1980 | | 227,224,719 | 112.9 | 1.18 | 1981 | | 229,465,744 | 114.0 | 0.99 | 1982 | | 231,664,432 | 115.1 | 0.96 | 1983 | | 233,792,014 | 116.1 | 0.92 | 1984 | | 235,824,907 | 117.2 | 0.87 | 1985 | | 237,923,734 | 118.2 | 0.89 | 1986 | | 240,132,831 | 119.3 | 0.93 | 1987 | | 242,288,936 | 120.4 | 0.90 | 1988 | | 244,499,004 | 121.5 | 0.91 | 1989 | | 246,819,222 | 122.6 | 0.95 | 1990 | | 249,622,814 | 124.0 | 1.14 | 1991 | | 252,980,941 | 125.7 | 1.35 | 1992 | | 256,514,224 | 127.4 | 1.40 | 1993 | | 259,918,588 | 129.1 | 1.33 | 1994 | | 263,125,821 | 130.7 | 1.23 | 1995 | | 266,278,393 | 132.3 | 1.20 | 1996 | | 269,394,284 | 133.8 | 1.17 | 1997 | | 272,646,925 | 135.4 | 1.21 | 1998 | | 275,854,104 | 137.0 | 1.18 | 1999 | | 279,040,168 | 138.6 | 1.15 | 2000 | | 282,162,411 | 140.2 | 1.12 | 2001 | | 284,968,955 | 141.6 | 0.99 | 2002 | | 287,625,193 | 142.9 | 0.93 | 2003 | | 290,107,933 | 144.1 | 0.86 | 2004 | | 292,805,298 | 145.5 | 0.93 | 2005 | | 295,516,599 | 146.8 | 0.93 | 2006 | | 298,379,912 | 148.2 | 0.97 | 2007 | | 301,231,207 | 149.6 | 0.96 | 2008 | | 304,093,966 | 151.1 | 0.95 | 2009 | | 306,771,529 | 152.4 | 0.88 | 2010 | | 309,378,433 | 153.7 | 0.85 | 2011 | | 311,841,632 | 154.9 | 0.80 | 2012 | | 314,344,331 | 156.2 | 0.80 | 2013 | | 316,735,375 | 157.3 | 0.76 | 2014 | | 319,270,047 | 158.6 | 0.80 | 2015 | | 321,829,327 | 159.9 | 0.80 | 2016 | | 324,367,742 | 161.1 | 0.79 | 2017 | | 326,623,063 | 162.3 | 0.70 | 2018 | | 328,542,157 | 163.2 | 0.59 | 2019 | | 330,233,102 | 164.1 | 0.51 | 2020 | | 331,511,512 | 164.7 | 0.39 | 2021 | | 332,031,554 | 164.9 | 0.16 | 2022 | | 333,287,557 | 165.6 | 0.38 |
Source: Calculations by the Kentucky Regional Economic Analysis Project (KY-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_CA1400_100_PN | | | | |
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