12-27-17 Projections show city won’t experience population boom
Projections show city won’t experience population boom
http://www.state-journal.com/2017/12/27/city-population-growth-not-expecting-boom-anytime-soon/
By Chanda Veno
Published 10:50 am Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Despite a steady trickle of new residents in the last four years, it is estimated that Frankfort’s population will grow less than 1 percent during the next 40 years, according to Terri Bradshaw, president and CEO of Kentucky Capital Development Corp.
“However, projections, which are determined by a variety of things including present trends and historic data, are just a forecast of the future; they are not written in stone,” Bradshaw said.
From 2012 to 2016, the capital city saw an average increase of 128 people per year — or less than 1 percent per year, the latest available estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show. Should the trend continue, it is estimated that the city population could eclipse 28,000. The city’s current population is estimated to be 27,885.
An additional 1,046 residents moved into Franklin County from 2012 to 2016, according to the bureau’s latest data. More recent city and county statistics are slated to be released in 2018.
“We have a number of projects under way that, I believe, will make Frankfort and Franklin County the place people want to live and work in the coming years, that will change that prognosis to positive growth,” Bradshaw said.
Meanwhile, Census Bureau national and state population estimates released last week show Kentucky smack dab in the middle of the pack for population growth nationally. Among all states, it ranked 26th in percentage growth. It falls to 27th if Washington, D.C., is included.
The Bluegrass State saw a population increase of 18,076, or 0.4 percent, from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017 — the period for which the data was collected.
Southern and Western states continued to lead the nation in population growth — with 38 percent of the nation’s population living in the south and 23.8 percent residing in the west.
Known around the world for its potato crop, Idaho was the country’s fastest-growing state over the last year.
With a population increase of 36,917 people, or 2.2 percent, Idaho easily took the top spot over Nevada (2 percent), Utah (1.9 percent) and Washington (1.7 percent). Tied for fifth were Florida and Arizona with 1.6 percent each.
“Domestic migration drove change in the two fastest-growing states, Idaho and Nevada, while an excess of births over deaths played a major part in the growth of the third fastest-growing state, Utah,” said Luke Rogers, chief of the Population Estimates Branch.
Overall, the U.S. population grew by 2.3 million, or 0.72 percent, to 325.7 million. The number of residents of voting grew to 252.1 million this year from 249.5 million in 2016 — a nearly 1 percent increase.
The five most populous states are California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. Illinois, despite losing residents over the past year, is the sixth most populated state. Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan rounded out the top 10.
