Gloucester County vs. New Jersey Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Gloucester County: 2022 Population = 306,601 2022 Percent of State = 3.31% 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 Gloucester County with comparisons to New Jersey and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Gloucester 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 Gloucester County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Gloucester County's population rose from 170,093 in 1969 to 306,601 in 2022, for a net gain of 136,508, or 80.25%. 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 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 shows Gloucester 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. Gloucester County's overall population growth was 80.25% over 1969-2022 outpaced New Jersey's increase of 30.54%, and topped 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 comparing the population growth of Gloucester 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, Gloucester County's population comprised 2.40% of New Jersey's population, while in 2022 it comprised 3.31% thereby yielding a +0.91% share-shift.
Gloucester County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Gloucester 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, Gloucester County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.12% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1989 (2.86%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1975 (-0.54%). In 2022, Gloucester County's population grew by 0.65% Gloucester 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 Gloucester 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, Gloucester County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.47%. It averaged 1.42% during the 1980s, 1.10% throughout the 1990s, 1.30% during the 2000s, 0.45% throughout 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 Gloucester County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for New Jersey and the nation. As the chart reveals, Gloucester County's average annual population growth topped New Jersey's average in the 1970s (1.47% vs. 0.39%), surpassed New Jersey's average throughout the 1980s (1.42% vs. 0.47%), recorded above New Jersey's average during the 1990s (1.10% vs. 0.79%), surpassed New Jersey's average throughout the 2000s (1.30% vs. 0.46%), lagged New Jersey's average during the 2010s (0.45% vs. 0.56%), and topped New Jersey's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.67% vs. 0.01%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Gloucester County outpaced the nation in the 1970s (1.47% vs. 1.10%), recorded above the nation during the 1980s (1.42% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation in the 1990s (1.10% vs. 1.23%), outperformed the nation throughout the 2000s (1.30% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 2010s (0.45% vs. 0.74%), and outperformed the nation over 2020-2022 (0.67% vs. 0.31%).
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