Hartford County vs. Connecticut Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Hartford County: 2022 Population = 898,783 2022 Percent of State = 24.79% Connecticut: 2022 Population = 3,626,205 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.09% 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 Hartford County with comparisons to Connecticut and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Hartford County vs. Connecticut'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 Hartford County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Hartford County's population rose from 808,574 in 1969 to 898,783 in 2022, for a net gain of 90,209, or 11.16%. 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 Connecticut's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Connecticut's population rose from 3,000,000 in 1969 to 3,626,205 in 2022, for a net gain of 626,205, or 20.87%. 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 Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 portrays Hartford County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Connecticut, 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. Hartford County's overall population growth was 11.16% over 1969-2022 trailed Connecticut's increase of 20.87%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Connecticut Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Hartford County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Connecticut's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Connecticut's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Hartford County's population totaled 26.95% of Connecticut's population, while in 2022 it comprised 24.79% thereby yielding a -2.17% share-shift.
Hartford County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Hartford 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, Hartford County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.20% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1970 (1.22%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1977 (-0.53%). In 2022, Hartford County's population grew by 0.06% Hartford 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 shows the annual percent change in Hartford 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, Hartford County's annual population growth rate averaged -0.04%. It averaged 0.58% during the 1980s, 0.00% during the 1990s, 0.44% throughout the 2000s, 0.09% during the 2010s, -0.03% 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 Hartford County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Connecticut and the nation. As the chart reveals, Hartford County's average annual population growth posted below Connecticut's average during the 1970s (-0.04% vs. 0.33%), lagged Connecticut's average throughout the 1980s (0.58% vs. 0.58%), fell below Connecticut's average during the 1990s (0.00% vs. 0.31%), lagged Connecticut's average throughout the 2000s (0.44% vs. 0.51%), recorded under Connecticut's average throughout the 2010s (0.09% vs. 0.13%), and fell below Connecticut's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.03% vs. 0.18%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Hartford County fell under the nation over the 1970s (-0.04% vs. 1.10%), lagged the nation in the 1980s (0.58% vs. 0.95%), trailed the nation during the 1990s (0.00% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (0.44% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation over the 2010s (0.09% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.03% vs. 0.31%).
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