By the numbers
Population decline rates, area counties, 2010-2015
Fayette: 3.7 percent
Rush: 4 percent
Union: 4.6 percent
Franklin: 0.8 percent
Henry: 1 percent
Wayne: 2.8 percent
Source: STATS Indiana
A report issued last week by the Indiana Business Research Center shows that area counties are seeing continued population decline, with several having the highest rates in the state.
The IBRC released its analysis March 24 of population growth and decline within Indiana in 2015, with figures from that analysis showing continuing population decline in Fayette, Franklin, Union, Rush, Henry and Wayne counties.
According to the analysis, statewide almost three of ever four Indiana counties experienced population change in 2015 which was lower than its average yearly change between 2000 and 2010, with most of the population growth taking place around metropolitan areas.
In 2015 alone, Fayette County experienced a decline of 0.1 percent, while as did Franklin County. Henry County had a population decrease of 0.2 percent, Rush County had a decrease of 1 percent, Union County a decline of 0.6 percent and Wayne County a drop of 0.7 percent.
“For most communities with slower population growth in recent years, these shifts date back to the beginning of the Great Recession,” said Matt Kinghorn, demographer for the Indiana Business Research Center.
The biggest shifts, however, are more evident across the last five years, with the rate of population decline in Fayette, Rush and Union counties being among the highest in the state.
Fayette County, for instance, lost roughly 3.7 percent of its population between 2010 and 2015, ranking it fifth-highest in the state during that period for population decline.
The situation was not any better for Rush or Union counties, with Rush seeing a population decline of 4 percent between 2010 and 2015, the second-highest rate in the state. Union County, meanwhile, had the state’s highest rate of population decline during that same period, as it lost about 4.6 percent of its population, according to United States Census figures.
Franklin County, while it fared better than Fayette, Rush and Union, still lost 0.8 percent of its population between 2010 and 2015, putting it in the middle of the pack statewide, while Henry County lost 1 percent and Wayne County 2.8 percent of its population during that time.
The outlook for those counties in the future, excluding Franklin, doesn’t look much better, either, according to census projections.
Fayette County, for instance, is projected to see its population drop to 18,877 by the year 2050, compared to its 23,638 population for 2015.
Decreases are also projected for Henry County (from 48,585 to 41,151), Rush County (16,960 to 13,286), Union County (7,583 to 7,332) and Wayne County (68,110 to 61,618) between 2015 and 2050.
The only area county expected to see an increase in population between 2015 and 2050 is Franklin, which is projected to go from 23,647 in 2015 to 24,305 by 2050.
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