Clark County population climbs 8% from 2010-’15

Clark County’s estimated population has risen to 459,495 residents, as growth resumes in the area. Between 2014 and 2015, the county grew by 2 percent, netting 9,054 new people, according to data released from the Census Bureau.

Most of that growth is from more people moving domestically or internationally to Clark County than moving away. The Census estimates that Clark County netted 6,489 new people between 2014 and 2015. That’s more than the natural increase — births minus deaths — of 2,185 people.

Local population growth has been happening at a faster clip over the last few years.

In 2010, when the actual Census was conducted, Clark County was believed to have 425,363 residents. That means over the last five years, Clark County’s population has grown 8.02 percent.

“Whatever you guys are doing, it looks like you’re doing it well,” said Peter Borsella, a demographer with the Washington, D.C.-based Census.

Net migration peaked in Clark County in 2004, Borsella said, when the county netted 9,317 new people. Then, it dipped to a low of 2,443 newcomers in 2012.

“Now, it looks like it’s on the upswing again,” he said.

Clark County is not among the fastest-growing counties in the nation. Counties in Texas and North Dakota are seeing rapid growth. However, most of these counties are small; McKenzie County, N.D., where the population is just 12,836, gained 1,831 people, which is an increase of 16.65 percent.

In terms of sheer numeric increase, though, the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore., area is seen as one of the front-runners. The metro area ranked 19th in the nation as it gained an estimated 40,621 people from 2014 to 2015, putting the population at 2,389,228 people.

Between 2010 and 2015, the population of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore., area grew 7.33 percent. So, Clark County has grown a bit faster than the rest of the metro area.

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area saw even bigger gains between 2014 and 2015: 60,714 more people. That area’s population is 3,733,580.

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