By Arthur E. Foulkes
TERRE HAUTE — The greater Terre Haute area has seen another drop in its population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
After a rare net gain in population between July 2005 and July 2006, the Terre Haute metropolitan area’s population fell by 116 people between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007, according to Census Bureau figures.
The Census Bureau considers the Terre Haute metropolitan area to include Vigo, Clay, Sullivan and Vermillion counties.
Several metro areas in Indiana with strong manufacturing traditions, such as Muncie, Terre Haute and Kokomo, have seen population declines in recent years, said Matt Kinghorn, a demographer with the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University.
Many of Indiana’s rural counties also have seen net population declines in recent years, Kinghorn noted.
In addition to net population figures, it’s important to consider migration figures, Kinghorn said. Migration figures leave out gains to the population caused by more babies being born than people dying. This leaves only changes in population caused by people moving in or out of an area.
In the past seven years, a net 1,600 people have moved away from the Terre Haute metro area, Kinghorn said. Terre Haute’s net migration loss between July 2006 and July 2007 was just less than 300, he said.
The South Bend area has seen a net migration loss of around 9,000 people since 2000, Kinghorn noted.
The age of the people moving in or out of a community also is important, Kinghorn said. “If you’re losing people in prime working years,” that can affect your economic growth, he said.
The most recent population figures released by the Census Bureau do not include breakdowns according to age, race or other demographic categories.
The Terre Haute metropolitan area has seen its population fall at least since 1960, when the area’s population was 172,069. The population fell by nearly 10,000 between 1980 and 1990. It recovered some by 2000, reaching 170,954, according to Census Bureau figures.
Compared with the early years of this decade, the past couple of years are an improvement for Terre Haute’s population figures, Kinghorn said. Between 2000 and 2002, the area’s population fell by more than 1,000. The loss of a net 68 residents in the past two years looks good by comparison, he said.
“That could be a sign the tide is being stemmed a little bit,” Kinghorn said.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
