Northwest Arctic Borough vs. Alaska Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Northwest Arctic Borough: 2022 Population = 7,423 2022 Percent of State = 1.01% Alaska: 2022 Population = 733,583 2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.22% 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 the Northwest Arctic Borough with comparisons to Alaska and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the Northwest Arctic Borough vs. Alaska'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 the Northwest Arctic Borough's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the Northwest Arctic Borough's population rose from 3,983 in 1969 to 7,423 in 2022, for a net gain of 3,440, or 86.37%. 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 Alaska's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Alaska's population rose from 296,000 in 1969 to 733,583 in 2022, for a net gain of 437,583, or 147.83%. 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 the Northwest Arctic Borough's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Alaska, 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. The Northwest Arctic Borough's overall population growth was 86.37% over 1969-2022 trailed Alaska's increase of 147.83%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Alaska Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of the Northwest Arctic Borough is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Alaska's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Alaska's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, the Northwest Arctic Borough's population comprised 1.35% of Alaska's population, while in 2022 it comprised 1.01% thereby yielding a -0.33% share-shift.
Northwest Arctic Borough Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of the Northwest Arctic Borough'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, the Northwest Arctic Borough's population grew at an annual rate of 1.21% over 1970-2022. The burough posted its highest growth in 1975 (8.86%) and posted its lowest growth in 2021 (-2.95%). In 2022, the Northwest Arctic Borough's population declined by -1.81% Northwest Arctic Borough Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some buroughs have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again depicts the annual percent change in the Northwest Arctic Borough'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, the Northwest Arctic Borough's annual population growth rate averaged 2.03%. It averaged 2.56% in the 1980s, 1.36% throughout the 1990s, 0.49% throughout the 2000s, 0.44% throughout the 2010s, -1.63% 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 the Northwest Arctic Borough noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Alaska and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Northwest Arctic Borough's average annual population growth posted below Alaska's average during the 1970s (2.03% vs. 3.17%), posted below Alaska's average throughout the 1980s (2.56% vs. 3.13%), led Alaska's average in the 1990s (1.36% vs. 1.34%), amounted to less than Alaska's average during the 2000s (0.49% vs. 1.13%), fell below Alaska's average throughout the 2010s (0.44% vs. 0.51%), and posted below Alaska's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-1.63% vs. -0.06%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the Northwest Arctic Borough outpaced the nation throughout the 1970s (2.03% vs. 1.10%), exceeded the nation throughout the 1980s (2.56% vs. 0.95%), registered above the nation during the 1990s (1.36% vs. 1.23%), lagged the nation during the 2000s (0.49% vs. 0.95%), recorded underneath the nation during the 2010s (0.44% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-1.63% vs. 0.31%).
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