Of the 25 counties with the highest high-wage services score, all have experienced growth both from natural change and from in-migration. Rural and micropolitan counties, such as Gallatin County, Montana (Bozeman) can specialize in high-wage services if they are connected to larger markets via airports. Communities specializing in high-wage services are characterized by a highly educated, relatively young population, as many of the occupations, such as information services, data processing, and telecommunications, are new industries.Īlthough many of these places are metropolitan, including the Bay Area, Portland, Salt Lake City, and the Front Range, not all are. The high-wage services typology measures the growth and size of employment in high-wage service sectors, and characteristics of the workforce employed in these sectors. For a detailed listing of the included occupations see the data methods paper. County Typologies and Population Changeīelow we briefly discuss the criteria included in the county typologies, how the top-scoring counties for each type are distributed across the West, and how the typologies relate to population change. Our interactive toolexplores data by county, and is available as a sortable data table. Ten fastest-growing and fastest-declining counties in the West, 2003-2012 (Change in number of people per year, per thousand residents) While retirement destinations have relatively high death rates, these places often have vibrant economies attractive to younger movers, leading to overall population gain.The oil and natural gas boom in eastern Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico in the past five years has drawn new workers to places whose populations had been declining.Counties with farm-dependent economies are among the fastest-shrinking, as their youngest residents move away and older residents age-in-place.Counties specializing in high-wage services are among the fastest-growing in the West, both from in-migration and natural change.In the fastest-shrinking places such as Huerfano County, Colorado, Golden Valley County, Montana, and Mineral County, Colorado, population has declined by at least 15% from 2003-2012.In the fastest-growing places such as Pinal County, Arizona, Sublette County, Wyoming, and Franklin County, Washington, population increased by more than 50% from 2003-2012.In most counties, the economy – and population change – is driven by several overlapping factors and they have characteristics of multiple typologies. This post includes an interactive map showing individual counties’ population change and score for the four typologies, a sortable, county-level data table, and a review of popular and peer-reviewed literature focused on explanations for trends in migration. Trends in population change have long-term implications for the economic and demographic trajectories of counties. Although the categories are not exhaustive nor mutually exclusive, we find they explain much of the variation in population change across the West. We summarize the counties according to four typologies–high-wage services, farm-dependent, oil and natural gas boom, and retirement destinations – and assemble economic and demographic data that characterize these four county types. One county’s population boom while and another county’s decline largely depends on the sectors driving the local economy and the type of workforce these sectors demand. These trends depend on natural change whether births exceed deaths-as well as net migration whether more people are moving in or out. County populations in the West are constantly changing, shifting due to demographic and economic forces, as well as the draw of family and natural amenities.
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