Hillsborough County vs. Florida Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Hillsborough County: 2022 Population = 1,513,301 2022 Percent of State = 6.80% Florida: 2022 Population = 22,244,823 2022 Percent of U.S. = 6.67% 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 Hillsborough County with comparisons to Florida and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Hillsborough County vs. Florida'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 Hillsborough County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Hillsborough County's population rose from 483,694 in 1969 to 1,513,301 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,029,607, or 212.86%. 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 Florida's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Florida's population rose from 6,641,000 in 1969 to 22,244,823 in 2022, for a net gain of 15,603,823, or 234.96%. 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 Hillsborough County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Florida, 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. Hillsborough County's overall population growth was 212.86% over 1969-2022 trailed Florida's increase of 234.96%, and topped the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Florida Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the population growth of Hillsborough County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Florida's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Florida's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Hillsborough County's population comprised 7.28% of Florida's population, while in 2022 it comprised 6.80% thereby yielding a -0.48% share-shift.
Hillsborough County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Hillsborough 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 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, Hillsborough County's population grew at an annual rate of 2.18% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1973 (5.85%) and posted its lowest growth in 1977 (0.99%). In 2022, Hillsborough County's population grew by 1.94% Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough 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, Hillsborough County's annual population growth rate averaged 2.83%. It averaged 2.63% in the 1980s, 1.76% during the 1990s, 2.12% in the 2000s, 1.77% during the 2010s, 1.52% 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 Hillsborough County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Florida and the nation. As the chart reveals, Hillsborough County's average annual population growth recorded under Florida's average throughout the 1970s (2.83% vs. 3.62%), lagged Florida's average during the 1980s (2.63% vs. 2.93%), recorded under Florida's average in the 1990s (1.76% vs. 2.23%), recorded above Florida's average during the 2000s (2.12% vs. 1.70%), outperformed Florida's average during the 2010s (1.77% vs. 1.36%), and exceeded Florida's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.52% vs. 1.37%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Hillsborough County led the nation over the 1970s (2.83% vs. 1.10%), topped the nation during the 1980s (2.63% vs. 0.95%), topped the nation during the 1990s (1.76% vs. 1.23%), topped the nation throughout the 2000s (2.12% vs. 0.95%), outgained the nation in the 2010s (1.77% vs. 0.74%), and outpaced the nation over 2020-2022 (1.52% vs. 0.31%).
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