LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Population loss in rural Nebraska may be slowing, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday.
The federal agency released its 2016 updates to population figures for counties and metropolitan areas. The statistics show that more Nebraska counties are gaining population than a decade ago, the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2nUVUKP ) reported.
David Drozd, research coordinator for the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said 30 counties gained population between 2010 and 2016, compared to only 18 from 2000 through 2006.
He said 17 of the state’s 93 counties lost at least 5 percent of their population in the first six years of this decade. That’s less than half the 39 counties that did so from 2000 through 2006.
Drozd said it’s difficult to determine what factors play into the slowing of rural population loss. One possible theory, he said, is that many young people move away after high school, so there may be fewer people of that age in rural areas to move away.
Drozd said he was surprised that more rural counties were gaining population because commodity prices have been slumping in recent years, leading to slower job growth and some job losses.
But research shows there’s been a “boomerang” effect with more people in their 30s moving back to rural counties, said Brian Depew, director of the Center for Rural Affairs. He also said immigration is a bigger factor in rural population than most people assume.
Still, census figures show that overall population growth is still concentrated in Nebraska’s metropolitan counties.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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