Kootenai County vs. Idaho Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Kootenai County: 2022 Population = 183,578 2022 Percent of State = 9.47% Idaho: 2022 Population = 1,939,033 2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.58% 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 Kootenai County with comparisons to Idaho and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Kootenai County vs. Idaho'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 Kootenai County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Kootenai County's population rose from 35,005 in 1969 to 183,578 in 2022, for a net gain of 148,573, or 424.43%. 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 Idaho's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Idaho's population rose from 707,000 in 1969 to 1,939,033 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,232,033, or 174.26%. 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 Kootenai County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Idaho, 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. Kootenai County's overall population growth was 424.43% over 1969-2022 outpaced Idaho's increase of 174.26%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Idaho Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Kootenai County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Idaho's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Idaho's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Kootenai County's population comprised 4.95% of Idaho's population, while in 2022 it totaled 9.47% thereby yielding a +4.52% share-shift.
Kootenai County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Kootenai 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, Kootenai County's population grew at an annual rate of 3.19% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1973 (8.48%) and posted its lowest growth in 1987 (-0.90%). In 2022, Kootenai County's population grew by 1.91% Kootenai 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 depicts the annual percent change in Kootenai 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, Kootenai County's annual population growth rate averaged 5.33%. It averaged 1.45% during the 1980s, 4.62% in the 1990s, 2.60% throughout the 2000s, 2.00% during the 2010s, 3.11% 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 Kootenai County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Idaho and the nation. As the chart reveals, Kootenai County's average annual population growth topped Idaho's average throughout the 1970s (5.33% vs. 2.81%), recorded above Idaho's average throughout the 1980s (1.45% vs. 0.65%), surpassed Idaho's average throughout the 1990s (4.62% vs. 2.52%), recorded above Idaho's average throughout the 2000s (2.60% vs. 2.00%), surpassed Idaho's average during the 2010s (2.00% vs. 1.52%), and registered above Idaho's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.11% vs. 2.36%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Kootenai County led the nation in the 1970s (5.33% vs. 1.10%), outpaced the nation during the 1980s (1.45% vs. 0.95%), topped the nation over the 1990s (4.62% vs. 1.23%), outpaced the nation during the 2000s (2.60% vs. 0.95%), topped the nation over the 2010s (2.00% vs. 0.74%), and outperformed the nation over 2020-2022 (3.11% vs. 0.31%).
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