Howard County continues population growth, Census Bureau says
Mar. 28—Howard County's population is continuing to grow, according to recent population estimates.
As of July 1, 2023, the county's population was 83,831, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual population estimates released earlier this year. That is an increase of 173 people, or 0.2%, from the county's 2020 census population of 83,658 and a turnaround from the Bureau's 2022 population estimate of 83,546 for the county.
Kokomo's estimated population in 2022, the most recent figure available, was 59,671, a 0.1% increase from its 2020 population of 59,604.
Each year, the Census Bureau revises and updates the annual estimates from 2020 to July 1 of the current year to incorporate "the most up-to-date input data and methodological improvements," according to its website. The Census Bureau calculates its population estimates using the total births and deaths of a county and its net migration.
The county's deaths outweigh its births and have for most years over the last several years, according to figures provided by the Howard County Health Department.
The county's total births and deaths since 2019 are as follows:
2019
Births: 1,172
Deaths: 1,111
2020
Births: 1,122
Deaths: 1,282
2021
Births: 1,107
Deaths: 1,336
2022
Births: 981
Deaths: 1,188
2023
Births: 970
Deaths: 1,114
So how is Howard County gaining population?
Matt Kinghorn, senior demographer at the Indiana Business Research Center at the Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, the State of Indiana, including Howard County, are seeing higher than normal net migration, or more people moving into the state than moving out or dying.
The same is happening statewide.
The State of Indiana added an estimated 29,925 residents in 2023, with a net inflow of 22,500 residents. It's the third straight year the state has seen more than 20,000 residents. For context, the average net migration for the state in the last decade was 9,100 people.
The Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area added 17,807 residents last year, accounting for 60% of the state's growth. Other metro areas to see growth were Fort Wayne (0.7%), Columbus (0.7%) and the Indiana part of the Louisville, Kentucky, metro area (0.6%).
Metro areas that lost population were Elkhart-Goshen (-0.2%), Bloomington (-0.1%) and Michigan City (-0.1%).
Howard County was one of a handful in the state to see an increase in population from 2010 to 2020, albeit at a modest 1.1%. The county's population is still lower than its peak of 86,896 in 1980, though.
City and county leaders at the time cited quality of life investments and improvements over the decade as the reason for the growth in population.
The county, so far, has bucked projections made by the Indiana Business Research Center several years ago that showed Howard County losing 10% of its population by 2050 due to, in large part, declining birth rates.
Maintaining population growth will be difficult for Howard County, Kinghorn said, due to the county's declining birth rate.
"It can be done, but it will be difficult given the demographic headwinds," he said.
Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.
