Oshkosh-Neenah MSA vs. Wisconsin Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Oshkosh-Neenah MSA: 2022 Population = 170,718 2022 Percent of State = 0.06% 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 the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA with comparisons to Wisconsin and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA 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 tracks the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's population rose from 127,138 in 1969 to 170,718 in 2022, for a net gain of 43,580, or 34.28%. 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 portrays the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA'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. The Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's overall population growth was 34.28% 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 comparing the population growth of the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA is to compare 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, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's population comprised 2.90% of Wisconsin's population, while in 2022 it comprised 2.90% thereby yielding a -0.01% share-shift.
Oshkosh-Neenah MSA Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA'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, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's population grew at an annual rate of 0.56% over 1970-2022. The Oshkosh-Neenah MSA posted its highest growth in 1970 (2.42%) and posted its lowest growth in 1974 (-1.07%). In 2022, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's population grew by 0.10% Oshkosh-Neenah MSA Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some msas 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 the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA'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 Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's annual population growth rate averaged 0.29%. It averaged 0.61% throughout the 1980s, 1.15% during the 1990s, 0.66% in the 2000s, 0.32% during the 2010s, -0.22% 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 the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Wisconsin and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA's average annual population growth posted below Wisconsin's average throughout the 1970s (0.29% vs. 0.64%), recorded above Wisconsin's average during the 1980s (0.61% vs. 0.40%), topped Wisconsin's average during the 1990s (1.15% vs. 0.94%), recorded above Wisconsin's average throughout the 2000s (0.66% vs. 0.61%), recorded under Wisconsin's average during the 2010s (0.32% vs. 0.37%), and amounted to less than Wisconsin's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.22% vs. 0.07%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA fell under the nation during the 1970s (0.29% vs. 1.10%), trailed the nation in the 1980s (0.61% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation throughout the 1990s (1.15% vs. 1.23%), trailed the nation in the 2000s (0.66% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 2010s (0.32% vs. 0.74%), and fell under the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.22% vs. 0.31%).
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