A Census story, just in time for Christmas. From today's Clarion Ledger...
Despite an estimated 3,600 people having left the state last fiscal year, Mississippi had some growth to move even closer to a 3 million population mark, thanks to more births than deaths.
The state's population is 2,951,996, an increase of 0.4 percent, according to state-by-state estimates the Census Bureau released Wednesday.
According to the last of the agency's annual population estimates before the decennial count in 2010, Mississippians made up for the loss in net migration by having more children. The Census Bureau estimates there were 44,125 births through July 1 over 28,934 deaths.
One-year-old L'deja Blevins contributed to the estimated 11,784 growth in the state's population in the fiscal year ending June 30.
Mississippi is a fine place to grow up, said Dorothy Blevins, L'deja's grandmother, as she pushed her fifth grandchild in a stroller toward the Babies 'R' Us in Flowood Wednesday afternoon. "I've been here all my life," she said.
Mississippi's estimated growth keeps the state at its current ranking as 31st most populous. California, with 37 million residents, remains the state with the largest population, followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois.
State leaders are beginning to talk up the upcoming 2010 census and the importance the count has on federal funding formulas and political representation.
Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes plans to discuss the census at Tuesday's council meeting as a way to urge city residents to participate.
A lot of urban residents are distrustful of census takers and are reluctant to answer the questions truthfully, he said. It is up to local leaders to "take the fear out of it," he said.
"A lot of people say the black community has always been undercounted," he said. "I think it is important that you put your best foot forward so that you are properly counted."
That's true on the Gulf Coast, too, where tens of thousands of people were displaced four years ago by Hurricane Katrina, Stokes said. Stokes said he fears an inaccurate count could cost the state political representation in Washington as it did a decade ago.
The 2000 census determined Mississippi grew to 2.8 million people in the 1990s, but that 10.5 percent growth was behind the national average of 13.2 percent. As a result, Mississippi lost a seat in the House of Representatives.
Census figures also are used in awarding federal dollars. Each year, more than $300 billion in federal funds is awarded to states, based on the census data.
The projections released Wednesday determined the state has grown by 3.8 percent since 2000, while the nation has grown 9.1 percent.
Census Director Robert Groves has suggested a special census be conducted on the Gulf Coast after the 2010 census to count people who have yet to return. Someone would have to pay for it, he said.
Dan Turner, spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, said there is little extra money available for the state to pay for a special count. It likely would not change much anyway, he said.
"I think the supposition is that a great deal of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents have returned at this point," he said. "But the larger concern for Mississippi right now would be the cost. Given that we are looking at at least two, if not several, more really tough budget years, the idea of coming up with the extra money for another count on the Gulf Coast is a problem."
There are no cost estimates for such a count, but some on the Gulf Coast are advocating for it.
Experts say there are some challenges to conducting a special census, including counting people who are temporarily staying at a home.
"Under normal conditions, there's always a bit of error associated with taking any census,'' said Audrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution. "But at this point, I don't think the pace of in-and-out migration in the Gulf Coast is as much as it was directly following the storms. So we're not talking about a lot of in-and-out movement ... It's not high velocity.''
One of the more pressing challenges, she said, is whether local governments can afford to pay for it.
About 300 special censuses have been conducted since the 2000 count, said Pat Paytas, a program analyst with the census. Paytas said local governments request the counts so they can get more federal funding, but they must weigh the cost of paying for the special count against the benefit.
Mississippi was one of 10 states to lose people through migration.
Michigan, hard hit by the recession, lost the most with 87,339 people leaving for elsewhere in the United States. The state was one of three to record an overall population loss. Maine and Rhode Island also had small losses.
Showing posts with label Census population estimates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Census population estimates. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sun Herald: Coastal population still below pre-Katrina levels, according to Census data
The Sun Herald reports on latest Census population figures...
Census: Coast cities yet to recover
By Michael Newsome
New U.S. Census Bureau data shows Gulfport, Long Beach and Waveland had the most population growth in 2008, but most South Mississippi cities are still below pre-Hurricane Katrina populations.
The data released today shows only cities in Pearl River, Stone and George Counties are above their pre-storm totals, though Coast cities are making steady gains. Gulfport — South Mississippi’s largest city — gained 1,074 people in 2008, the data shows. The city is still 3,205 below its pre-Katrina population of 73,260. Waveland gained 454 people in 2008, bringing its population to an estimated 5,249, still far below the pre-Katrina population of 8,346. In Long Beach, 753 residents were gained in 2008, the Census reports.
Long Beach Mayor Billy Skellie believes many families, taking advantage of good schools there, have rebuilt their homes and he notes several apartment complexes opened, which likely contributed to the growth.
“It is still a really desirable place to educate your children and also to live,” Skellie said.
Like data on counties released recently, the latest Census numbers on cities show growth in Stone, George and Pearl River counties, which don’t have the post-Katrina housing and insurance troubles the Coast has after Katrina. Poplarville, Wiggins, Picayune and Lucedale are still above pre-Katrina totals. Of those cities, only Poplarville lost residents in 2008, having gone down only 27.
The Census shows some Coast cities had losses in 2008. Biloxi was down 617 from 2007, the most of any South Mississippi city, Moss Point lost 259 and Ocean Springs lost 109. Bay St. Louis was down 71 residents.
But Skellie also doubts his city, as well as some others, are as far below pre-Katrina totals as the Census reports. All Coast cities area still below their 2005 totals. The numbers show Long Beach had a pre-Katrina population of 17,469, but only had 12,234 in 2008, as well as Biloxi being down from 50,562 before the storm to 45,670 in 2008. But Gautier and D’Iberville are only down from before Katrina about 330 apiece. Ocean Springs is only down 406 from before the storm.
Housing officials have said that many new apartment complexes were built after the storm, but landlords are having to pay high insurance costs, and as a result, rents are higher than many can afford and a large number of units remain vacant.
Besides doubts from elected officials, immigrants rights groups have often said they don’t believe Census numbers. For example, recent Census numbers, which included data on ethnicity, showed the six southernmost counties’ Hispanic population is 15,420, a figure doubted by the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. MIRA believes the number is closer to 30,000 and might have been near 80,000 just after the storm. The Census numbers only show South Mississippi’s Hispanic population as 2,103 more than it was before Hurricane Katrina. The group believes many Hispanics avoid Census workers.
“Even the people who speak English and are born in the U.S. have always been resistant to the Census because of the fear factor, because of the stigma and because it is The Man coming to the door,” Victoria Cintra, MIRA organizing coordinator told the Sun Herald recently. “Especially communities of color and immigrant communities are the ones that get left out. I don’t believe in the numbers at this point.”
Census: Coast cities yet to recover
By Michael Newsome
New U.S. Census Bureau data shows Gulfport, Long Beach and Waveland had the most population growth in 2008, but most South Mississippi cities are still below pre-Hurricane Katrina populations.
The data released today shows only cities in Pearl River, Stone and George Counties are above their pre-storm totals, though Coast cities are making steady gains. Gulfport — South Mississippi’s largest city — gained 1,074 people in 2008, the data shows. The city is still 3,205 below its pre-Katrina population of 73,260. Waveland gained 454 people in 2008, bringing its population to an estimated 5,249, still far below the pre-Katrina population of 8,346. In Long Beach, 753 residents were gained in 2008, the Census reports.
Long Beach Mayor Billy Skellie believes many families, taking advantage of good schools there, have rebuilt their homes and he notes several apartment complexes opened, which likely contributed to the growth.
“It is still a really desirable place to educate your children and also to live,” Skellie said.
Like data on counties released recently, the latest Census numbers on cities show growth in Stone, George and Pearl River counties, which don’t have the post-Katrina housing and insurance troubles the Coast has after Katrina. Poplarville, Wiggins, Picayune and Lucedale are still above pre-Katrina totals. Of those cities, only Poplarville lost residents in 2008, having gone down only 27.
The Census shows some Coast cities had losses in 2008. Biloxi was down 617 from 2007, the most of any South Mississippi city, Moss Point lost 259 and Ocean Springs lost 109. Bay St. Louis was down 71 residents.
But Skellie also doubts his city, as well as some others, are as far below pre-Katrina totals as the Census reports. All Coast cities area still below their 2005 totals. The numbers show Long Beach had a pre-Katrina population of 17,469, but only had 12,234 in 2008, as well as Biloxi being down from 50,562 before the storm to 45,670 in 2008. But Gautier and D’Iberville are only down from before Katrina about 330 apiece. Ocean Springs is only down 406 from before the storm.
Housing officials have said that many new apartment complexes were built after the storm, but landlords are having to pay high insurance costs, and as a result, rents are higher than many can afford and a large number of units remain vacant.
Besides doubts from elected officials, immigrants rights groups have often said they don’t believe Census numbers. For example, recent Census numbers, which included data on ethnicity, showed the six southernmost counties’ Hispanic population is 15,420, a figure doubted by the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. MIRA believes the number is closer to 30,000 and might have been near 80,000 just after the storm. The Census numbers only show South Mississippi’s Hispanic population as 2,103 more than it was before Hurricane Katrina. The group believes many Hispanics avoid Census workers.
“Even the people who speak English and are born in the U.S. have always been resistant to the Census because of the fear factor, because of the stigma and because it is The Man coming to the door,” Victoria Cintra, MIRA organizing coordinator told the Sun Herald recently. “Especially communities of color and immigrant communities are the ones that get left out. I don’t believe in the numbers at this point.”
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