Oxford County vs. Maine Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Oxford County: 2022 Population = 59,495 2022 Percent of State = 4.29% Maine: 2022 Population = 1,385,340 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 Oxford County with comparisons to Maine and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Oxford County vs. Maine'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 Oxford County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Oxford County's population rose from 43,550 in 1969 to 59,495 in 2022, for a net gain of 15,945, or 36.61%. 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 Maine's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Maine's population rose from 992,000 in 1969 to 1,385,340 in 2022, for a net gain of 393,340, or 39.65%. 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 Oxford County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Maine, 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. Oxford County's overall population growth was 36.61% over 1969-2022 trailed Maine's increase of 39.65%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Maine Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of Oxford County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Maine's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Maine's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Oxford County's population totaled 4.39% of Maine's population, while in 2022 it equated to 4.29% thereby yielding a -0.10% share-shift.
Oxford County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Oxford 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, Oxford County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.59% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1972 (2.80%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1973 (-1.74%). In 2022, Oxford County's population grew by 1.32% Oxford 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 Oxford 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, Oxford County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.05%. It averaged 0.80% in the 1980s, 0.41% in the 1990s, 0.62% during the 2000s, -0.04% in the 2010s, 1.04% 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 Oxford County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Maine and the nation. As the chart reveals, Oxford County's average annual population growth trailed Maine's average throughout the 1970s (1.05% vs. 1.27%), amounted to less than Maine's average in the 1980s (0.80% vs. 0.82%), outperformed Maine's average throughout the 1990s (0.41% vs. 0.38%), led Maine's average throughout the 2000s (0.62% vs. 0.49%), lagged Maine's average during the 2010s (-0.04% vs. 0.21%), and topped Maine's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.04% vs. 0.68%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Oxford County posted below the nation throughout the 1970s (1.05% vs. 1.10%), fell under the nation over the 1980s (0.80% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation in the 1990s (0.41% vs. 1.23%), lagged the nation in the 2000s (0.62% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation during the 2010s (-0.04% vs. 0.74%), and topped the nation over 2020-2022 (1.04% vs. 0.31%).
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