| Southeast vs. Great Lakes Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1958-2022 Introduction Southeast: 2022 Population = 86,811,961 2022 Percent of U.S. = 26.05% Great Lakes: 2022 Population = 47,097,779 2022 Percent of U.S. = 14.13% 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 Southeast with comparisons to the Great Lakes and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the Southeast vs. the Great Lakes' population growth over 1958-2022. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Figure 1. Figure 1 traces the Southeast's and the Great Lakes' annual population for the period 1958-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 65-year period, the Southeast's population rose from 37,435,000 in 1958 to 86,811,961 in 2022, for a net gain of 49,376,961, or 131.90%. In comparison, the Great Lakes' population increased from 35,578,000 in 1958 to 47,097,779 in 2022, for a net gain of 11,519,779, or 32.38%. NOTE: The 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. Figure 2. Figure 2 portrays the Southeast's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with the Great Lakes, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's population in 1958 as a base figure of 100, and the populations in later years as a percentage of the 1958 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in population growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. The Southeast's overall population growth was 131.90% over 1958-2022 outpaced the Great Lakes' increase of 32.38%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 91.38%. Figure 3. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of the Southeast and the Great Lakes is to compare their individual percentage contributions to the United States' total population over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than the United States' population, while a declining share shows they grew more slowly. In 1958, the Southeast's population totaled 21.50% of the United States' population, while in 2022 it totaled 26.05% thereby yielding a +4.55% share-shift. Similarly, in 1958, the Great Lakes' population made up 20.43% of the United States' population, while in 2022 it equated to 14.13%, resulting in a -6.30% share-shift. | | | | Population Share-Shift 2022 vs. 1958 | Share- Shift* | | 2022 | vs. | 1958 | | +4.55% | = | 26.05% | - | 21.50% | | -6.30% | = | 14.13% | - | 20.43% |
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Figure 4. Figure 4 displays the short-run pattern of the Southeast's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1959-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 64-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 Southeast's population grew at an annual rate of 1.32% over 1959-2022. The Southeast posted its highest growth in 1971 (2.36%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2021 (0.62%). In 2022, the Southeast's population grew by 1.01% Figure 5. Over the past six decades some BEA regions have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 5 again illustrates the annual percent change in the Southeast's population since 1959, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1960s, the Southeast's annual population growth rate averaged 1.32%. It averaged 1.81% throughout the 1970s, 1.23% in the 1980s, 1.56% during the 1990s, 1.27% throughout the 2000s, 0.87% throughout the 2010s, 0.77% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Figure 6. Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for the Southeast noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for the Great Lakes and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Southeast's average annual population growth topped the Great Lakes' average throughout the 1960s (1.32% vs. 1.06%), outpaced the Great Lakes' average throughout the 1970s (1.81% vs. 0.42%), outperformed the Great Lakes' average in the 1980s (1.23% vs. 0.06%), outperformed the Great Lakes' average throughout the 1990s (1.56% vs. 0.72%), surpassed the Great Lakes' average throughout the 2000s (1.27% vs. 0.30%), recorded above the Great Lakes' average throughout the 2010s (0.87% vs. 0.21%), and registered above the Great Lakes' average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.77% vs. -0.18%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the Southeast outperformed the nation during the 1960s (1.32% vs. 1.29%), topped the nation over the 1970s (1.81% vs. 1.10%), outgained the nation over the 1980s (1.23% vs. 0.95%), exceeded the nation in the 1990s (1.56% vs. 1.23%), recorded above the nation during the 2000s (1.27% vs. 0.95%), registered above the nation over the 2010s (0.87% vs. 0.74%), and led the nation over 2020-2022 (0.77% vs. 0.31%). | | | | Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.81 | 1.23 | 1.56 | 1.27 | 0.87 | 0.77 | 1.01 | | | 0.44 | 1.06 | 0.42 | 0.06 | 0.72 | 0.30 | 0.21 | -0.18 | -0.18 | | | 1.02 | 1.29 | 1.10 | 0.95 | 1.23 | 0.95 | 0.74 | 0.31 | 0.38 |
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Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | Southeast: Population, 1958-2022 | | | | | | | 1958 | | 37,435,000 | 100.0 | N | 21.50 | 1959 | | 38,115,000 | 101.8 | 1.82 | 21.52 | 1960 | | 38,885,000 | 103.9 | 2.02 | 21.61 | 1961 | | 39,544,000 | 105.6 | 1.69 | 21.61 | 1962 | | 40,179,000 | 107.3 | 1.61 | 21.63 | 1963 | | 40,742,000 | 108.8 | 1.40 | 21.62 | 1964 | | 41,349,000 | 110.5 | 1.49 | 21.64 | 1965 | | 41,857,000 | 111.8 | 1.23 | 21.64 | 1966 | | 42,257,000 | 112.9 | 0.96 | 21.61 | 1967 | | 42,611,000 | 113.8 | 0.84 | 21.59 | 1968 | | 43,042,000 | 115.0 | 1.01 | 21.60 | 1969 | | 43,440,000 | 116.0 | 0.92 | 21.58 | 1970 | | 43,973,515 | 117.5 | 1.23 | 21.58 | 1971 | | 45,013,167 | 120.2 | 2.36 | 21.76 | 1972 | | 46,019,010 | 122.9 | 2.23 | 21.99 | 1973 | | 46,991,755 | 125.5 | 2.11 | 22.23 | 1974 | | 47,954,591 | 128.1 | 2.05 | 22.48 | 1975 | | 48,787,678 | 130.3 | 1.74 | 22.64 | 1976 | | 49,513,969 | 132.3 | 1.49 | 22.76 | 1977 | | 50,311,832 | 134.4 | 1.61 | 22.89 | 1978 | | 51,113,001 | 136.5 | 1.59 | 23.01 | 1979 | | 51,976,687 | 138.8 | 1.69 | 23.15 | 1980 | | 52,881,196 | 141.3 | 1.74 | 23.27 | 1981 | | 53,627,371 | 143.3 | 1.41 | 23.37 | 1982 | | 54,248,696 | 144.9 | 1.16 | 23.42 | 1983 | | 54,856,066 | 146.5 | 1.12 | 23.46 | 1984 | | 55,514,620 | 148.3 | 1.20 | 23.54 | 1985 | | 56,198,797 | 150.1 | 1.23 | 23.62 | 1986 | | 56,861,115 | 151.9 | 1.18 | 23.68 | 1987 | | 57,536,401 | 153.7 | 1.19 | 23.75 | 1988 | | 58,120,493 | 155.3 | 1.02 | 23.77 | 1989 | | 58,733,381 | 156.9 | 1.05 | 23.80 | 1990 | | 59,516,122 | 159.0 | 1.33 | 23.84 | 1991 | | 60,500,666 | 161.6 | 1.65 | 23.92 | 1992 | | 61,508,138 | 164.3 | 1.67 | 23.98 | 1993 | | 62,530,549 | 167.0 | 1.66 | 24.06 | 1994 | | 63,574,211 | 169.8 | 1.67 | 24.16 | 1995 | | 64,601,937 | 172.6 | 1.62 | 24.26 | 1996 | | 65,611,342 | 175.3 | 1.56 | 24.36 | 1997 | | 66,655,300 | 178.1 | 1.59 | 24.45 | 1998 | | 67,626,581 | 180.7 | 1.46 | 24.52 | 1999 | | 68,569,381 | 183.2 | 1.39 | 24.57 | 2000 | | 69,497,232 | 185.6 | 1.35 | 24.63 | 2001 | | 70,317,959 | 187.8 | 1.18 | 24.68 | 2002 | | 71,151,666 | 190.1 | 1.19 | 24.74 | 2003 | | 71,961,591 | 192.2 | 1.14 | 24.81 | 2004 | | 73,019,229 | 195.1 | 1.47 | 24.94 | 2005 | | 74,148,386 | 198.1 | 1.55 | 25.09 | 2006 | | 75,065,947 | 200.5 | 1.24 | 25.16 | 2007 | | 76,122,849 | 203.3 | 1.41 | 25.27 | 2008 | | 77,057,840 | 205.8 | 1.23 | 25.34 | 2009 | | 77,814,936 | 207.9 | 0.98 | 25.37 | 2010 | | 78,570,325 | 209.9 | 0.97 | 25.40 | 2011 | | 79,199,406 | 211.6 | 0.80 | 25.40 | 2012 | | 79,888,872 | 213.4 | 0.87 | 25.41 | 2013 | | 80,515,501 | 215.1 | 0.78 | 25.42 | 2014 | | 81,203,968 | 216.9 | 0.86 | 25.43 | 2015 | | 81,982,533 | 219.0 | 0.96 | 25.47 | 2016 | | 82,834,748 | 221.3 | 1.04 | 25.54 | 2017 | | 83,586,827 | 223.3 | 0.91 | 25.59 | 2018 | | 84,232,711 | 225.0 | 0.77 | 25.64 | 2019 | | 84,845,052 | 226.6 | 0.73 | 25.69 | 2020 | | 85,417,040 | 228.2 | 0.67 | 25.77 | 2021 | | 85,947,732 | 229.6 | 0.62 | 25.89 | 2022 | | 86,811,961 | 231.9 | 1.01 | 26.05 |
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_SA1400_100_PSN | | | | |
Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | Great Lakes: Population, 1958-2022 | | | | | | | 1958 | | 35,578,000 | 100.0 | N | 20.43 | 1959 | | 35,928,000 | 101.0 | 0.98 | 20.28 | 1960 | | 36,290,000 | 102.0 | 1.01 | 20.16 | 1961 | | 36,616,000 | 102.9 | 0.90 | 20.01 | 1962 | | 36,927,000 | 103.8 | 0.85 | 19.88 | 1963 | | 37,357,000 | 105.0 | 1.16 | 19.82 | 1964 | | 37,868,000 | 106.4 | 1.37 | 19.82 | 1965 | | 38,405,000 | 107.9 | 1.42 | 19.85 | 1966 | | 38,951,000 | 109.5 | 1.42 | 19.92 | 1967 | | 39,347,000 | 110.6 | 1.02 | 19.94 | 1968 | | 39,645,000 | 111.4 | 0.76 | 19.89 | 1969 | | 39,904,000 | 112.2 | 0.65 | 19.82 | 1970 | | 40,319,722 | 113.3 | 1.04 | 19.78 | 1971 | | 40,622,322 | 114.2 | 0.75 | 19.64 | 1972 | | 40,824,274 | 114.7 | 0.50 | 19.51 | 1973 | | 40,946,800 | 115.1 | 0.30 | 19.37 | 1974 | | 41,036,791 | 115.3 | 0.22 | 19.24 | 1975 | | 41,105,385 | 115.5 | 0.17 | 19.08 | 1976 | | 41,186,726 | 115.8 | 0.20 | 18.93 | 1977 | | 41,353,165 | 116.2 | 0.40 | 18.82 | 1978 | | 41,510,152 | 116.7 | 0.38 | 18.69 | 1979 | | 41,610,978 | 117.0 | 0.24 | 18.53 | 1980 | | 41,693,671 | 117.2 | 0.20 | 18.35 | 1981 | | 41,647,869 | 117.1 | -0.11 | 18.15 | 1982 | | 41,492,474 | 116.6 | -0.37 | 17.91 | 1983 | | 41,366,046 | 116.3 | -0.30 | 17.69 | 1984 | | 41,393,218 | 116.3 | 0.07 | 17.55 | 1985 | | 41,417,995 | 116.4 | 0.06 | 17.41 | 1986 | | 41,455,030 | 116.5 | 0.09 | 17.26 | 1987 | | 41,589,687 | 116.9 | 0.32 | 17.17 | 1988 | | 41,720,866 | 117.3 | 0.32 | 17.06 | 1989 | | 41,872,543 | 117.7 | 0.36 | 16.96 | 1990 | | 42,091,157 | 118.3 | 0.52 | 16.86 | 1991 | | 42,495,903 | 119.4 | 0.96 | 16.80 | 1992 | | 42,902,625 | 120.6 | 0.96 | 16.73 | 1993 | | 43,274,741 | 121.6 | 0.87 | 16.65 | 1994 | | 43,589,980 | 122.5 | 0.73 | 16.57 | 1995 | | 43,923,694 | 123.5 | 0.77 | 16.50 | 1996 | | 44,239,468 | 124.3 | 0.72 | 16.42 | 1997 | | 44,493,603 | 125.1 | 0.57 | 16.32 | 1998 | | 44,727,877 | 125.7 | 0.53 | 16.21 | 1999 | | 44,969,225 | 126.4 | 0.54 | 16.12 | 2000 | | 45,216,019 | 127.1 | 0.55 | 16.02 | 2001 | | 45,401,564 | 127.6 | 0.41 | 15.93 | 2002 | | 45,550,284 | 128.0 | 0.33 | 15.84 | 2003 | | 45,707,787 | 128.5 | 0.35 | 15.76 | 2004 | | 45,844,372 | 128.9 | 0.30 | 15.66 | 2005 | | 45,949,142 | 129.2 | 0.23 | 15.55 | 2006 | | 46,071,573 | 129.5 | 0.27 | 15.44 | 2007 | | 46,187,992 | 129.8 | 0.25 | 15.33 | 2008 | | 46,275,120 | 130.1 | 0.19 | 15.22 | 2009 | | 46,355,854 | 130.3 | 0.17 | 15.11 | 2010 | | 46,450,820 | 130.6 | 0.20 | 15.01 | 2011 | | 46,580,609 | 130.9 | 0.28 | 14.94 | 2012 | | 46,702,192 | 131.3 | 0.26 | 14.86 | 2013 | | 46,858,230 | 131.7 | 0.33 | 14.79 | 2014 | | 46,981,634 | 132.1 | 0.26 | 14.72 | 2015 | | 47,048,673 | 132.2 | 0.14 | 14.62 | 2016 | | 47,136,309 | 132.5 | 0.19 | 14.53 | 2017 | | 47,234,338 | 132.8 | 0.21 | 14.46 | 2018 | | 47,306,617 | 133.0 | 0.15 | 14.40 | 2019 | | 47,358,868 | 133.1 | 0.11 | 14.34 | 2020 | | 47,338,744 | 133.1 | -0.04 | 14.28 | 2021 | | 47,181,948 | 132.6 | -0.33 | 14.21 | 2022 | | 47,097,779 | 132.4 | -0.18 | 14.13 |
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_SA1400_100_PSN | | | | |
Tip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data. | | | | United States: Population, 1958-2022 | | | | | | 1958 | | 174,153,000 | 100.0 | N | 1959 | | 177,136,000 | 101.7 | 1.71 | 1960 | | 179,972,000 | 103.3 | 1.60 | 1961 | | 182,976,000 | 105.1 | 1.67 | 1962 | | 185,739,000 | 106.7 | 1.51 | 1963 | | 188,434,000 | 108.2 | 1.45 | 1964 | | 191,085,000 | 109.7 | 1.41 | 1965 | | 193,460,000 | 111.1 | 1.24 | 1966 | | 195,499,000 | 112.3 | 1.05 | 1967 | | 197,375,000 | 113.3 | 0.96 | 1968 | | 199,312,000 | 114.4 | 0.98 | 1969 | | 201,298,000 | 115.6 | 1.00 | 1970 | | 203,798,722 | 117.0 | 1.24 | 1971 | | 206,817,509 | 118.8 | 1.48 | 1972 | | 209,274,882 | 120.2 | 1.19 | 1973 | | 211,349,205 | 121.4 | 0.99 | 1974 | | 213,333,635 | 122.5 | 0.94 | 1975 | | 215,456,585 | 123.7 | 1.00 | 1976 | | 217,553,859 | 124.9 | 0.97 | 1977 | | 219,760,875 | 126.2 | 1.01 | 1978 | | 222,098,244 | 127.5 | 1.06 | 1979 | | 224,568,579 | 128.9 | 1.11 | 1980 | | 227,224,719 | 130.5 | 1.18 | 1981 | | 229,465,744 | 131.8 | 0.99 | 1982 | | 231,664,432 | 133.0 | 0.96 | 1983 | | 233,792,014 | 134.2 | 0.92 | 1984 | | 235,824,907 | 135.4 | 0.87 | 1985 | | 237,923,734 | 136.6 | 0.89 | 1986 | | 240,132,831 | 137.9 | 0.93 | 1987 | | 242,288,936 | 139.1 | 0.90 | 1988 | | 244,499,004 | 140.4 | 0.91 | 1989 | | 246,819,222 | 141.7 | 0.95 | 1990 | | 249,622,814 | 143.3 | 1.14 | 1991 | | 252,980,941 | 145.3 | 1.35 | 1992 | | 256,514,224 | 147.3 | 1.40 | 1993 | | 259,918,588 | 149.2 | 1.33 | 1994 | | 263,125,821 | 151.1 | 1.23 | 1995 | | 266,278,393 | 152.9 | 1.20 | 1996 | | 269,394,284 | 154.7 | 1.17 | 1997 | | 272,646,925 | 156.6 | 1.21 | 1998 | | 275,854,104 | 158.4 | 1.18 | 1999 | | 279,040,168 | 160.2 | 1.15 | 2000 | | 282,162,411 | 162.0 | 1.12 | 2001 | | 284,968,955 | 163.6 | 0.99 | 2002 | | 287,625,193 | 165.2 | 0.93 | 2003 | | 290,107,933 | 166.6 | 0.86 | 2004 | | 292,805,298 | 168.1 | 0.93 | 2005 | | 295,516,599 | 169.7 | 0.93 | 2006 | | 298,379,912 | 171.3 | 0.97 | 2007 | | 301,231,207 | 173.0 | 0.96 | 2008 | | 304,093,966 | 174.6 | 0.95 | 2009 | | 306,771,529 | 176.2 | 0.88 | 2010 | | 309,378,433 | 177.6 | 0.85 | 2011 | | 311,841,632 | 179.1 | 0.80 | 2012 | | 314,344,331 | 180.5 | 0.80 | 2013 | | 316,735,375 | 181.9 | 0.76 | 2014 | | 319,270,047 | 183.3 | 0.80 | 2015 | | 321,829,327 | 184.8 | 0.80 | 2016 | | 324,367,742 | 186.3 | 0.79 | 2017 | | 326,623,063 | 187.5 | 0.70 | 2018 | | 328,542,157 | 188.7 | 0.59 | 2019 | | 330,233,102 | 189.6 | 0.51 | 2020 | | 331,511,512 | 190.4 | 0.39 | 2021 | | 332,031,554 | 190.7 | 0.16 | 2022 | | 333,287,557 | 191.4 | 0.38 |
Source: Calculations by the United States Regional Economic Analysis Project (US-REAP) with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis November 2023 REAP_PI_SA1400_100_PN | | | | |
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