WBUR: Mass. Population To Grow 4.4 Percent Over 20 Years
WBUR, Boston’s NPR station, featured a story via State House News Service, highlighting the findings of a recent population study released by the UMass Donahue Institute. The study looked at population projections for every town and municipality in Massachusetts through 2030, finding that the state’s overall population will grow nominally, but several regions will experience decreased numbers, and the state’s population overall will age.
Individuals 65 and older accounted for 14 percent of the population in 2010, but that group is expected to represent 21 percent by 2030. Conversely, individuals 19 years old or younger accounted for 25 percent of the population in 2010, a share expected to fall to 22 percent by 2030. Those trends will likely have workforce and business implications.
While the state’s 4.4 percent growth rate over the 20-year period is more than the 3.3 percent growth rate for the Northeast as a whole, the study predicts the U.S. population will grow 15.6 percent over the same 20-year period, rising 8.2 percent between 2010 and 2020 and another 7.4 percent between 2020 and 2030.
Under the estimates released Wednesday, Massachusetts’ population will increase an average of only 0.22 percent a year between 2010 and 2030, putting the state at risk of losing another Congressional seat following decennial U.S. Census counts scheduled for 2020 and 2030.
Read article: Massachusetts Population To Grow 4.4 Percent Over 20 Years
December 04, 2013
