Mountrail County continues growth
Mountrail County continues growth
Population pendulum swinging
toward the west
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
New census estimates show that 20 of the 53 counties in North Dakota had population growth in 2009 with 15 of those counties being in the western part of the state.
It’s no surprise that Cass County experienced the largest growth, but what may be surprising, at least statistically, is that Mountrail County grew 3.4 percent, which is among the highest relative growth of any county in the state.
“That’s great for Mountrail County,” said state Data Center Director Richard Rathge. “We haven’t seen a pattern like this for quite a while.”
The U.S. Census, being tabulated this year, may tell a slightly different story, but Rathge said Mountrail County increased its population 222 people from July 2008 to July 2009, representing more than a 3 percent increase.
In July 2008, there were 6,569 people in Mountrail County and by July 2009, the population had grown to 6,791.
According to Rathge, first of all, the county had a natural increase in population, meaning there were more births than deaths in that year. In fact, Mountrail County recorded 122 births and 72 deaths for a natural increase of 50 people.
In addition, 168 new people moved into the county and four people claim two places as home for a net in migration of 222.
Estimates also show that all five principal communities in Mountrail County, New Town, Stanley, Parshall, Plaza and Ross, are at least showing slight increases in population with New Town and Stanley projected to have the most growth.
