Census Says Iowa’s Population Grew Slightly

By Drew Andersen, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Mar. 23–WATERLOO — Black Hawk County has experienced a sharper decline in population than almost any county in Iowa since 2000.

According to a recent population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau, only Cerro Gordo County’s population dipped by a greater number than Black Hawk County’s. A net decrease of 1,907, or 1.5 percent, in Black Hawk County was due in large part to 7,328 people moving out of the county during the period from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006.

Black Hawk County’s population increased by 146, or 0.1 percent, from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006. Births for the period outgained deaths by 488, but 353 more people left than moved into the county. The increase marked the first time Black Hawk County’s population grew in the study’s 5-year span.

Bremer County ranked ninth among Iowa counties with a 1 percent population gain in the past year, increasing by 247 people. Bremer was the only county in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area to increase in population since 2000, as Grundy County’s population dropped by 49. Buchanan County experienced a population drop of 48 since 2000, but gained 24 in the last year.

Dallas County remains the only Iowa entry on the list of the nation’s 100 fastest growing counties, according to the estimates.

With a 5.3 percent increase since 2000, Linn County, with an estimated 201,853 residents, joined Polk County with a population over 200,000. It is the first time in the state’s history two counties have topped that population mark, according to state records.

Dallas County, on the western edge of Des Moines, grew by 33.7 percent between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2006. The census estimated in its annual report on population growth that the county now has 54,525 people. It ranked No. 33 in rate of growth among counties.

Most other counties with similar growth are in warm-weather states like Texas, Georgia and Arizona.

Jean Ballinger, 87, who has lived in Waukee for 10 years, said it is a change from the rural past.

“I moved here because I wanted to live in a small town,” Ballinger said. “Scratch that.”

Overall, Iowa’s population increased by 1.9 percent or 55,703 residents since April 2000. The state’s population is estimated at 2,982,085.

Smaller Iowa counties without larger cities continued to see population decreases, with 48 counties having more deaths than births. During the six-year census period, 35 Iowa counties gained population while 64 did not. Almost all of those that showed gains were near cities or interstate highways.

Because of the lag behind other states, Iowa is expected to lose a congressional seat after the 2010 census, slipping from five to four representatives in the U.S. House.

Iowa is not alone. Officials in other states said other Midwestern states such as Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas are having similar experiences.

Iowa’s 10 biggest counties made up nearly half of the state’s residents. Most of those counties registered gains in recent years, including a 9.2 percent increase in Polk County to 408,888.

Immigrants from other countries continued to help fuel Iowa’s population increase, with the state gaining an estimated 36,142 immigrants. However, the state lost 41,489 Iowans to other states.

Marshall County, home to a large immigrant community drawn by packing plant jobs, had the highest birth rate. The lowest was in Adams County.

The highest death rate was in Audubon County. Johnson County, where the University of Iowa is located, had the lowest.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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