Grady County vs. Oklahoma Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Grady County: 2022 Population = 56,658 2022 Percent of State = 1.41% Oklahoma: 2022 Population = 4,019,800 2022 Percent of U.S. = 1.21% 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 Grady County with comparisons to Oklahoma and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Grady County vs. Oklahoma's population growth over 1969-2022. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 1. Figure 1 tracks Grady County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Grady County's population rose from 29,269 in 1969 to 56,658 in 2022, for a net gain of 27,389, or 93.58%. NOTE: The county and 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. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 traces Oklahoma's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Oklahoma's population rose from 2,535,000 in 1969 to 4,019,800 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,484,800, or 58.57%. NOTE: The county and 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. Population Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 portrays Grady County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Oklahoma, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's population in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the populations in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in population growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. Grady County's overall population growth was 93.58% over 1969-2022 outpaced Oklahoma's increase of 58.57%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Oklahoma Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of Grady County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Oklahoma's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Oklahoma's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Grady County's population totaled 1.15% of Oklahoma's population, while in 2022 it comprised 1.41% thereby yielding a +0.25% share-shift.
Grady County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Grady County's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-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, Grady County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.27% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1982 (7.07%) and posted its lowest growth in 1986 (-2.47%). In 2022, Grady County's population grew by 1.89% Grady County Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Grady County's population since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, Grady County's annual population growth rate averaged 2.83%. It averaged 0.93% during the 1980s, 0.70% in the 1990s, 1.44% during the 2000s, 0.48% in the 2010s, 1.13% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 7. Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Grady County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Oklahoma and the nation. As the chart reveals, Grady County's average annual population growth registered above Oklahoma's average throughout the 1970s (2.83% vs. 1.60%), exceeded Oklahoma's average in the 1980s (0.93% vs. 0.61%), recorded under Oklahoma's average in the 1990s (0.70% vs. 0.88%), led Oklahoma's average in the 2000s (1.44% vs. 0.79%), recorded under Oklahoma's average during the 2010s (0.48% vs. 0.59%), and led Oklahoma's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.13% vs. 0.64%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Grady County topped the nation over the 1970s (2.83% vs. 1.10%), posted below the nation in the 1980s (0.93% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation during the 1990s (0.70% vs. 1.23%), outperformed the nation during the 2000s (1.44% vs. 0.95%), fell below the nation throughout the 2010s (0.48% vs. 0.74%), and recorded above the nation over 2020-2022 (1.13% vs. 0.31%).
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