U.S. Census 2020: Vermont is growing
Vermonters can stop sounding the alarm about a dwindling population. The state gained 17,336 people in the last decade, according to the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census. While Vermont’s 2.8 percent growth is lower than the 7.4 percent national increase, it is not the slight population drop suggested by estimates made yearly by the Census.
Census officials say the 10-year population data, like those released in 2010 and 2020, are more accurate because they are based on actual counts. The annual estimates, which are based on surveys and other random sampling data, have more room for error.
It’s worth noting that the 2020 count does not reflect any influx during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Census count is based on where people lived on April 1, 2020—a few weeks into the pandemic, before anyone had time to move.
Going forward, state policymakers should be cautious when using Census estimates to gauge the population change between decennial counts. We won’t have an exact picture again until 2030.
THIS MONTH
Back to work
Just over 1,500 additional Vermonters were employed in July, the largest monthly increase since the pandemic began, reaching 306,526. But that was still 29,300 fewer than those employed at the start of 2020, prior to the pandemic.
