Nonmetropolitan U.S. vs. New Hampshire Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Nonmetropolitan U.S.: 2022 Population = 45,446,945 2022 Percent of State = 13.64% New Hampshire: 2022 Population = 1,395,231 2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.42% 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 the Nonmetropolitan U.S. with comparisons to New Hampshire and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the Nonmetropolitan U.S. vs. New Hampshire'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 the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s and New Hampshire's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s population rose from 35,985,590 in 1969 to 45,446,945 in 2022, for a net gain of 9,461,355, or 26.29%. In comparison, New Hampshire's population advanced from 724,000 in 1969 to 1,395,231 in 2022, for a net advance of 671,231, or 92.71%. 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 2. Figure 2 portrays the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with New Hampshire, 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. The Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s overall population growth was 26.29% over 1969-2022 trailed New Hampshire's increase of 92.71%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the United States Total: 1969-2022 Figure 3. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of the Nonmetropolitan U.S. and New Hampshire is to trace their individual percentage contributions to the United States' total population over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than the United States' population, while a declining share shows they grew more slowly. In 1969, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s population comprised 17.88% of the United States' population, while in 2022 it comprised 13.64% thereby yielding a -4.24% share-shift. Similarly, in 1969, New Hampshire's population consisted of 0.36% of the United States' population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.42%, resulting in a +0.06% share-shift.
Nonmetropolitan U.S. Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the short-run pattern of the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'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, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s population grew at an annual rate of 0.44% over 1970-2022. The Nonmetropolitan U.S. recorded its highest growth in 1971 (1.63%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1986 (-0.35%). In 2022, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s population grew by 0.12% Nonmetropolitan U.S. Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 5. Over the past five decades some nonmetropolitan regions 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 the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'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, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s annual population growth rate averaged 1.08%. It averaged 0.18% in the 1980s, 0.77% throughout the 1990s, 0.34% in the 2000s, -0.04% throughout the 2010s, 0.06% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 6. Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for the Nonmetropolitan U.S. noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for New Hampshire and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s average annual population growth recorded under New Hampshire's average during the 1970s (1.08% vs. 2.33%), recorded under New Hampshire's average during the 1980s (0.18% vs. 1.94%), fell below New Hampshire's average during the 1990s (0.77% vs. 1.02%), recorded under New Hampshire's average during the 2000s (0.34% vs. 0.75%), lagged New Hampshire's average during the 2010s (-0.04% vs. 0.42%), and fell below New Hampshire's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.06% vs. 0.57%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the Nonmetropolitan U.S. posted below the nation during the 1970s (1.08% vs. 1.10%), lagged the nation during the 1980s (0.18% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1990s (0.77% vs. 1.23%), fell under the nation over the 2000s (0.34% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 2010s (-0.04% vs. 0.74%), and trailed the nation over 2020-2022 (0.06% vs. 0.31%).
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