Planning report shows population growth modest

Wayne ranks 21st among 67 PA counties

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - You may have heard someone say that Wayne County is the third fastest growing county in the state behind Pike, which is the fastest growing county.

Well, such a statement is misleading, according to Ed Coar, director of the Wayne County Planning Department. Coar made his remarks to the county commissioners on March 5 when he presented the Wayne County Planning Commission Annual Report for 2008.

“This kind of statement is based on the pure simple percentage increases in Pennsylvania counties,” Coar said. “It’s hard to get a true picture of population density because you can have a very large county with tens of thousands of residents where a big increase in new residents shows up as a small percentage increase.”

Because Wayne and Pike are so small in overall population, it doesn’t take many residents to get a high percentage rate, he said.

A truer picture of population density is to show the increase in persons per square mile. Based on the difference between the U.S. Census Bureau data for 2000 and that for 2007, Wayne ranks 21st in increased population density among the commonwealth’s 67 counties and Pike ranks 11th.

The data shows that only 29 counties have experienced a population increase.

Lehigh County, with a population of 312,090 in 2000, had a population of 337,343 in 2007?a jump of 72.84 persons per square mile. “That’s an enormous increase and puts Lehigh at the top of the chart,” Coar said. “Wayne County went from 47,722 in 2000 to 51,708 in 2007.”

Based on 2006 trends, the U.S. Census has projected that by 2010 the county will see a 10.5 percent increase in population, Coar said. Pike will see a 42.8 percent increase.

A chart entitled Population Density Change in PA Counties is contained on page 34 of the annual report. Limited copies are available from the planning department office at the Wayne County Court House in Honesdale.