POPULATION TRENDS
Henderson County’s population is growing. In 2000, the U.S. Census counted 89,173 persons in the county. This is an additional 19,888 persons or a 28.7% increase since 1990 (Figure PT.1). Interestingly, this equates to an average of 5.4 persons moving into the county each day for that ten-year period. Further, and even more dramatic, this increase represents an additional 46,369 persons or a 108.3% increase since 1970.
|
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
42,804 |
58,580 |
69,285 |
89,173 |
|
Source: U.S.
Census Bureau |
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Henderson County’s population has more than doubled during the thirty-year period between 1970 and 2000. In absolute persons, the majority of this growth was seen in the period between 1990 and 2000, with an additional 19,888 persons being added to the county census and an average annual growth rate of 2.23%. This significant rise in populace is also depicted in Figure PT.2, which also demonstrates that growth as been constant.
Source: Based on U.S. Census Bureau data
By comparison, population growth in Henderson County is faster than in neighboring counties. Polk County was the closest to Henderson in percentage growth with an increase of 26.7% from 1990 to 2000. The growth rate for the State of North Carolina was 21.4% for this same period. This data is shown in Figure PT.3 below.
The 2000 U.S. Census (Figure PT.4) indicates that there were more deaths than births in Henderson County between April 1990 and April 2000. This fact is important because it means that all of Henderson County’s recent population growth is attributable to the migration of new residents into the county. Further, the county’s net migration percentage for the period topped all of the counties in the Region B Planning Area (Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania) at 29%. This percentage was also higher than the net migration for the State of North Carolina (15.1%) during the same period. These facts are of critical importance in terms of future planning because it indicates that new residents are still drawn to Henderson County. If the public input is any indicator of the source of this attraction, it is Henderson County’s high quality of life, as well as its central location to regional employment centers.
Looking at total county population, it is also important to take into consideration the population changes for the county’s municipalities. Figure PT.5 identifies the growth within these municipalities from 1970 to 2000.
|
Municipality |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
Village of Flat Rock |
Data not available |
2,565 |
||
|
Town of Fletcher |
|
2,233 |
2,787 |
4,185 |
|
City of Hendersonville |
6,443 |
6,862 |
7,284 |
10,420 |
|
Town of Laurel Park |
581 |
764 |
1,322 |
2,017 |
|
City of Saluda* |
Data not available |
4 |
||
|
Source: U.S.
Census Bureau 2000 *Only a small portion of the City of Saluda is
located within Henderson County. |
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As shown in Figure PT.5, Hendersonville, the county's largest municipality in population and also the County seat, experienced the most growth in absolute persons between 1990 and 2000 with an additional 3,136 being added to the City's population and an average annual growth rate of 4.31%. An explanation for this growth has been Hendersonville’s annexations during the study period. The second-fastest growing municipality in the county was Fletcher, with 1,398 persons and an average annual average growth rate of 5.02% from 1990 to 2000. Laurel Park also experienced significant growth during the period with a 5.26% average annual growth rate.
Although the population analysis for the Village of Flat Rock is incomplete due to its 1995 incorporation, one can reasonably assume from the overall growth within the county that it, too, has grown significantly. The Town of Mills River was not incorporated until 2003 and is therefore not included in Figure PT.5.
County township demographics play an important role in planning for the county, because the U.S. Census tracks population by Township. Figure PT.6 and Appendix I, Map 01: Township Growth 1990-2000 indicates the recent and historical growth rates of each of the county’s townships.
The county’s largest township, Hendersonville, experienced the largest amount of population growth during the 1990-2000 time period, while the Clear Creek, Blue Ridge and Crab Creek townships experienced the greatest percent change in population during the same time period.