Iowa County vs. Wisconsin Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Iowa County: 2022 Population = 23,865 2022 Percent of State = 0.41% Wisconsin: 2022 Population = 5,892,539 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.77% 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 Iowa County with comparisons to Wisconsin and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Iowa County vs. Wisconsin'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 Iowa County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Iowa County's population rose from 19,309 in 1969 to 23,865 in 2022, for a net gain of 4,556, or 23.60%. 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 Wisconsin's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Wisconsin's population rose from 4,378,000 in 1969 to 5,892,539 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,514,539, or 34.59%. 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 Iowa County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Wisconsin, 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. Iowa County's overall population growth was 23.60% over 1969-2022 trailed Wisconsin's increase of 34.59%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Wisconsin Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Iowa County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Wisconsin's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Wisconsin's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Iowa County's population comprised 0.44% of Wisconsin's population, while in 2022 it totaled 0.41% thereby yielding a -0.04% share-shift.
Iowa County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Iowa 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, Iowa County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.41% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1971 (3.29%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1973 (-2.64%). In 2022, Iowa County's population grew by 0.37% Iowa 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 Iowa County'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, Iowa County's annual population growth rate averaged 0.20%. It averaged 0.23% throughout the 1980s, 1.22% throughout the 1990s, 0.38% throughout the 2000s, 0.04% throughout the 2010s, 0.25% 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 Iowa County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Wisconsin and the nation. As the chart reveals, Iowa County's average annual population growth trailed Wisconsin's average during the 1970s (0.20% vs. 0.64%), trailed Wisconsin's average throughout the 1980s (0.23% vs. 0.40%), outgained Wisconsin's average during the 1990s (1.22% vs. 0.94%), trailed Wisconsin's average in the 2000s (0.38% vs. 0.61%), posted below Wisconsin's average throughout the 2010s (0.04% vs. 0.37%), and surpassed Wisconsin's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.25% vs. 0.07%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Iowa County trailed the nation throughout the 1970s (0.20% vs. 1.10%), lagged the nation in the 1980s (0.23% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1990s (1.22% vs. 1.23%), fell below the nation during the 2000s (0.38% vs. 0.95%), fell under the nation during the 2010s (0.04% vs. 0.74%), and lagged the nation over 2020-2022 (0.25% vs. 0.31%).
| Analysis Options Menu |