About this time next month, we’ll get our first looks at the Census Bureau’s 2018 data. Unfolding of the 2018 1-year American Community Survey Reports and subsequent reports will continue through the first of the year.

To that end, a review of where we currently stand is a good investment of the time. Last year’s report put the Tri-Cities’ population at 0.2% growth – all of it from migration. The value and importance of attracting new residents are now in place among many local civic and business leaders as the core element for the growth the region so desperately desires.

Some officials like to discount the 1-year ACS reports because their jurisdictions are not large enough to be included in the initial release. However, those smaller-population centers are included in the supplementals that follower the initial release by a month or so.

The 1-year report is best viewed and used when you need the most current conditions. The 5-year studies are best when precision is more important than the most current data. However, don’t make the mistake of looking at the five-year data and says the report shows accurate conditions for the last year of the period. It’s doesn’t.

Here’s a couple of links to reports that help round out the discussion on population and population growth. Some of the data in these reports paint a more optimistic picture than other estimates. A good baseline reference point is the 2018 1-year data.

Report shows county population growth, losses in Tri-Cities; Washington Co. TN, Sullivan, Greene see most local growth https://donfenley.com/2019/04/18/report-shows-county-population-growth-losses-in-tri-cities-washington-co-tn-sullivan-greene-see-most-local-growth/

 Population in 10 Tri-Cities towns and cities up; major cities see largest gains; drill down shows unexpected items https://donfenley.com/2019/05/27/population-in-10-tri-cities-towns-and-cities-up-major-cities-see-largest-gains-drill-down-shows-unexpected-items/

 Most Tri-Cities area residents are native Tennesseans, but the balance is shifting https://donfenley.com/2019/03/10/most-but-not-all-local-residents-are-native-tennesseans-but-the-balance-is-shifting/

Tri-Cities birth-death balance gets worse in 2017 https://donfenley.com/2018/05/27/tri-cities-birth-death-balance-gets-worse-in-2017/

 A Tri-Cities’ ticking population time bomb https://donfenley.com/2017/10/11/a-tri-cities-ticking-population-time-bomb/

Kingsport leading Tri-Cities population growth https://donfenley.com/2018/05/24/kingsport-leading-tri-cities-population-growth/

Remember the population growth report is only an estimate. It will be interesting to compare those 2017 estimates with the more accurate 2018 data.

Categories: DEMOGRAPHICS