Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that North Dakota’s population hit a record high of 779,094 residents on April 1, 2020, and the state had the fourth-highest growth rate in the nation by percentage, growing by 15.8% from 2010 to 2020.
Preliminary county data released this past week, however, shows that Eddy County’s population has dropped over the past 10 years. According to the Vintage 2020 data, Eddy County’s population was 2,179 in 2020, nearly 8% less than in 2010, when the population stood at 2,385 .
Population counts were released for all 50 states as part of the Apportionment Population Count used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The number of House seats allocated for North Dakota will remain at one.
Gov. Doug Burgum noted that during the timeframe that the Census 2020 data was being collected, the state’s Complete Count Task Force emphasized the financial impact of counting every resident. As a result of a successful Census 2020 count, the state is projected to receive over $2 billion more in federal funding during this coming decade, using an estimate of $19,100 per person, per year.
“From the Census 2010 count of 672,591 to the just released Census 2020 count of 779,094, North Dakota grew by 106,503 residents. This is the largest growth the state has seen in any decade since between 1900 and 1910 when the state grew by 257,910 residents,” remarked Kevin Iverson, manager of the North Dakota State Data Center at the North Dakota Department of Commerce
North Dakota’s percentage growth of 15.8% was the fourth-largest behind Texas at 15.9%, Idaho at 17.3%, and Utah at 18.4%. Among bordering states, Minnesota grew by 7.6%, Montana by 9.6% and South Dakota by 8.9%.
North Dakota also turned over the first digit in its population – rolling over from a “6” to a “7” – for the first time in 100 years. Between Census 1910 and 1920, the state grew from 577,056 to 646,872.
While the preliminary data for Eddy County looks bleak, final population counts at the county and city levels, as well as demographic characteristics such as age, sex and race detail, are not expected to be released until August 2021.
