Parshall’s population slips 8 percent
Parshall’s population slips 8 percent
Mountrail County’s population up nearly 16 percent, third highest in state
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
Census figures have shown that Parshall’s population dropped by 8 percent in the past 10 years despite economic growth sings in various parts of the community.
Parshall’s latest population of 903 was a loss of 78 people from the 2000 census, or an 8 percent drop. It was only one of two communties in Mountrail County with a population loss. The other was Palermo, which lost only 3 people but showed a 4 percent drop.
“The reason why Parshall declined is not very clear,” said State Data Center Director Richard Rathge. “I am not sure what the housing situation is there and perhaps that may hold one clue. If housing is tight and no new housing occurred, it may have moderated the potential growth. Until we get the age and household data, it is difficult to say who left.”
Parshall Mayor Richard Bolkan wasn’t immediately available for comment, but Rathge rationalized why fewer people live in Parshall than 10 years ago.
“Another possibility is that the loss reflects a change in household composition,” Rathge added. “We see that in many larger cities where there is housing growth, but population decline. What happens is that children in larger families move away to college or elsewhere to work. Similarly, older couples lose spouses and the result is smaller household size, which translates into fewer people but the same number of occupied housing units. We will be able to gain more insight when the characteristic data from the 2010 census is released later this year.”
