Atlantic County vs. New Jersey Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Atlantic County: 2022 Population = 275,638 2022 Percent of State = 2.98% New Jersey: 2022 Population = 9,261,699 2022 Percent of U.S. = 2.78% 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 Atlantic County with comparisons to New Jersey and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Atlantic County vs. New Jersey'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 Atlantic County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Atlantic County's population rose from 174,603 in 1969 to 275,638 in 2022, for a net gain of 101,035, or 57.87%. 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 New Jersey's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, New Jersey's population rose from 7,095,000 in 1969 to 9,261,699 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,166,699, or 30.54%. 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 Atlantic County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with New Jersey, 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. Atlantic County's overall population growth was 57.87% over 1969-2022 outpaced New Jersey's increase of 30.54%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the New Jersey Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Atlantic County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to New Jersey's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than New Jersey's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Atlantic County's population totaled 2.46% of New Jersey's population, while in 2022 it comprised 2.98% thereby yielding a +0.52% share-shift.
Atlantic County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Atlantic 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, Atlantic County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.87% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1972 (2.87%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2016 (-0.69%). In 2022, Atlantic County's population grew by 0.18% Atlantic 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 Atlantic 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, Atlantic County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.02%. It averaged 1.39% throughout the 1980s, 1.23% throughout the 1990s, 0.91% during the 2000s, 0.00% throughout the 2010s, 0.19% 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 Atlantic County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for New Jersey and the nation. As the chart reveals, Atlantic County's average annual population growth topped New Jersey's average during the 1970s (1.02% vs. 0.39%), led New Jersey's average during the 1980s (1.39% vs. 0.47%), registered above New Jersey's average throughout the 1990s (1.23% vs. 0.79%), led New Jersey's average throughout the 2000s (0.91% vs. 0.46%), amounted to less than New Jersey's average throughout the 2010s (0.00% vs. 0.56%), and surpassed New Jersey's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.19% vs. 0.01%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Atlantic County fell under the nation in the 1970s (1.02% vs. 1.10%), topped the nation over the 1980s (1.39% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation over the 1990s (1.23% vs. 1.23%), recorded underneath the nation over the 2000s (0.91% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation in the 2010s (0.00% vs. 0.74%), and lagged the nation over 2020-2022 (0.19% vs. 0.31%).
| Analysis Options Menu |