Okanogan County vs. Washington Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Okanogan County: 2022 Population = 43,127 2022 Percent of State = 0.55% Washington: 2022 Population = 7,785,786 2022 Percent of U.S. = 2.34% 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 Okanogan County with comparisons to Washington and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Okanogan County vs. Washington'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 Okanogan County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Okanogan County's population rose from 24,701 in 1969 to 43,127 in 2022, for a net gain of 18,426, or 74.60%. 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 Washington's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Washington's population rose from 3,343,000 in 1969 to 7,785,786 in 2022, for a net gain of 4,442,786, or 132.90%. 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 shows Okanogan County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Washington, 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. Okanogan County's overall population growth was 74.60% over 1969-2022 trailed Washington's increase of 132.90%, and topped the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Washington Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of Okanogan County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Washington's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Washington's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Okanogan County's population totaled 0.74% of Washington's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.55% thereby yielding a -0.18% share-shift.
Okanogan County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Okanogan 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, Okanogan County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.06% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1970 (4.86%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2001 (-1.11%). In 2022, Okanogan County's population grew by 0.90% Okanogan 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 illustrates the annual percent change in Okanogan 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, Okanogan County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.94%. It averaged 1.05% throughout the 1980s, 1.74% throughout the 1990s, 0.33% during the 2000s, 0.31% in the 2010s, 0.92% 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 Okanogan County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Washington and the nation. As the chart reveals, Okanogan County's average annual population growth exceeded Washington's average in the 1970s (1.94% vs. 1.85%), trailed Washington's average during the 1980s (1.05% vs. 1.70%), amounted to less than Washington's average throughout the 1990s (1.74% vs. 2.10%), recorded under Washington's average in the 2000s (0.33% vs. 1.33%), lagged Washington's average throughout the 2010s (0.31% vs. 1.37%), and outperformed Washington's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.92% vs. 0.64%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Okanogan County recorded above the nation over the 1970s (1.94% vs. 1.10%), surpassed the nation during the 1980s (1.05% vs. 0.95%), exceeded the nation in the 1990s (1.74% vs. 1.23%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 2000s (0.33% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation in the 2010s (0.31% vs. 0.74%), and recorded above the nation over 2020-2022 (0.92% vs. 0.31%).
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