Fairfield County vs. South Carolina Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Fairfield County: 2022 Population = 20,455 2022 Percent of State = 0.39% South Carolina: 2022 Population = 5,282,634 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.59% 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 Fairfield County with comparisons to South Carolina and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Fairfield County vs. South Carolina'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 Fairfield County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Fairfield County's population rose from 19,896 in 1969 to 20,455 in 2022, for a net gain of 559, or 2.81%. 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 South Carolina's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, South Carolina's population rose from 2,570,000 in 1969 to 5,282,634 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,712,634, or 105.55%. 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 Fairfield County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with South Carolina, 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. Fairfield County's overall population growth was 2.81% over 1969-2022 trailed South Carolina's increase of 105.55%, and fell below the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the South Carolina Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Fairfield County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to South Carolina's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than South Carolina's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Fairfield County's population totaled 0.77% of South Carolina's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.39% thereby yielding a -0.39% share-shift.
Fairfield County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Fairfield 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, Fairfield County's population grew at an annual rate of 0.06% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1979 (1.56%) and posted its lowest growth in 1972 (-2.01%). In 2022, Fairfield County's population declined by -1.17% Fairfield 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 Fairfield 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, Fairfield County's annual population growth rate averaged 0.38%. It averaged 0.74% during the 1980s, 0.41% throughout the 1990s, 0.39% during the 2000s, -1.26% in the 2010s, -1.21% 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 Fairfield County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for South Carolina and the nation. As the chart reveals, Fairfield County's average annual population growth posted below South Carolina's average throughout the 1970s (0.38% vs. 1.85%), fell below South Carolina's average throughout the 1980s (0.74% vs. 1.14%), lagged South Carolina's average during the 1990s (0.41% vs. 1.41%), recorded under South Carolina's average throughout the 2000s (0.39% vs. 1.45%), trailed South Carolina's average in the 2010s (-1.26% vs. 1.02%), and lagged South Carolina's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-1.21% vs. 1.33%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Fairfield County posted below the nation over the 1970s (0.38% vs. 1.10%), fell below the nation in the 1980s (0.74% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation throughout the 1990s (0.41% vs. 1.23%), posted below the nation in the 2000s (0.39% vs. 0.95%), fell below the nation during the 2010s (-1.26% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-1.21% vs. 0.31%).
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