Tuesday, 4/4

Why yes, I AM that much of a geek. Thanks for asking.

Last night on “Life in the 906” I geeked out over some Census Bureau estimate numbers that were just released for U.P. counties. Afterwards, I had someone ask me if I really do pay attention to such minutiae as I mentioned last night, and I had to admit that yes, I do.

Tomorrow, in fact, I'll tell you the story as to WHY I do it. But to set that up, here's what I said last night. Actually, it's what I said last night and even more, what I wrote before realizing I had to cut 45 seconds to make my time limit.

Here 'tis--

We need to recruit five more people to live in Marquette County, and I'm gonna tell you why.

First of all, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m...kind of a geek.  No really–it’s true.  And one of the many ways in which that manifests itself is the way I look forward to the US Census Bureau’s release each and every year of their “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population of Counties” survey.  It’s a fascinating read; they really SHOULD make a movie out of it some day.

I have no doubt it would be a blockbuster.

Anyway, one of the interesting findings in this year’s estimate is that Marquette County has grown by a little over 600 residents since the last official Census was taken in 2020.  According to the Census Bureau, Marquette County now has 66,661 inhabitants.  If we had just five more people living here, we would have hit the jackpot…sixes all across the board.

Yes, I need help.  What’s your point?

The Census Bureau actually had good news for several UP counties.  While Marquette had by far the biggest growth, several others also jumped.  Alger, Schoolcraft, Keweenaw, and Baraga all gained over 100 residents, and even counties that had been shedding inhabitants, like Iron and Ontonagon, managed to stay level with where they were 2 years ago.

Of course, these are just estimates; it’s not an actual count.  And that’s why UP counties that lost residents this time around shouldn’t be too concerned.  The Census Bureau estimates Chippewa County lost 500 people, Houghton County over 300, and Delta County almost 200.  Whether or not that trend continues, there’s still plenty of time for those areas to work on getting their numbers back up.

But overall, even though it’s just an estimate, it’s pretty good news for the entire UP, a place where population loss has become chronic.  Maybe it’s a sign that the brain drain might be easing.  Maybe it’s a sign that the rest of the world is starting to come to their senses and realize just what a special place this is in which to live.  I mean, it doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that, for some UP counties, decades of population loss have been mitigated, at least temporarily.  For those areas, that's a great thing.  And for those of us who are geeky enough to look at those numbers, it’ll make it a little more interesting each and every year when the annual Census report comes out, to see if that trend continues.

Now, if we could find those five extra residents for Marquette County, and have sixes all across the board–we’d be all set.

I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906”.

Like I said...tomorrow, the story as to WHY I geek out over Census Bureau estimates.

(jim@wmqt.com)