Idaho’s Population Growth Slowed Between 2014-2015
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)- Idaho's population growth is slowing down according to new Census numbers. The Idaho Department of Labor reports that the amount of people living in the state only grew 1.2% during a 12 month period between 2014 and 2015. A year before that Idaho's population growth was 1.4%. Idaho's population at last estimated is at 1,654,930. Here are some other highlights from the Census numbers:
- The Census estimates also show more than a 40 percent downward shift in the growth rate of Idahoans ages 20-39. From July 2014 to July 2015, that age category - identified as the state’s workforce of the future - added only 3,735 people compared with an increase of 6,422 between July 2013 and July 2014.
- Tthe growth of the 40-64 age group nearly doubled from 2014, from an increase of 2,238 in 2014 to an increase of 4,112 in 2015, when people age 64 years old and younger made up approximately 85 percent of Idaho’s total population growth.
- Idaho’s population continues to age faster than the nation’s. Idaho seniors – people age 65 and older - increased by 24 percent from mid-2010 to mid-2015 compared with 18 percent for the nation. This group includes the oldest four years of the baby boom generation - born between 1946 and 1964 – and accounts for 14.3 percent of the state’s total population.
By the numbers, each of Idaho’s 44 counties experienced population shifts by age. Ada County saw the largest numeric increases across all age groups.
Median Age
Idaho’s median age of 35.9 – the point at which half the population is younger and the other half is lower - was lower than the nation’s at 37.8 as of mid-2015.
Madison County, home of BYU-Idaho, had the second lowest median age in the nation at 23.2. Latah County, where the University of Idaho is located, had the state’s second lowest median age at 28.8.
Adams County had the highest median age in the state at 54. Boise, Clearwater, Custer and Lemhi counties, also with a median age above 50, are dominated by jobs in natural resources industries.
By the numbers, each of Idaho’s 44 counties experienced population shifts by age. Ada County saw the largest numeric increases across all age groups.
Eight other counties also saw increases across all age groups:
- Bonneville,
- Boundary,
- Canyon,
- Jefferson,
- Kootenai,
- Teton,
- Twin Falls
- Valley
Butte was the only county to experience a loss in every age group. Elmore County had the largest numeric decrease for the 19-year-old and younger and the 20-39-year-old groups. Blaine and Clearwater counties had the largest decrease in 40-64 year olds. Only two counties – Butte and Clark – had a decrease in the 65 and older age group.