Johnson County continues to lead population growth

? A population trend continued in Kansas, with urban counties gaining residents while many rural counties, especially in the western part of the state, saw dwindling numbers, according to the latest Census Bureau estimate.

The estimate of population change from July 1, 2002, to July 1, 2003, was released Thursday. It showed Johnson County led the state in actual growth and as a percentage of growth.

The county population increased from 476,009 to 486,515, a 2.2 percent boost. At the bottom was Ness County, which went from 3,285 to 3,158, a drop of 3.9 percent.

For the same period, the Kansas population grew 0.4 percent from 2,711,769 to 2,723,507, ranking 42nd nationally for the one-year period. Of the 105 counties, 28 saw a population growth, while the rest either remained unchanged or lost people.

There were exceptions to the declining rural population. Ford County ranked second statewide as a percentage of increase, going from 32,431 to 33,012, an 1.8 percent jump.

“Maybe we are second in the state because everybody else is slowing down,” said Mike Gurneeg, Dodge City planning director.

Gurneeg said the only thing that could explain the increase is more people being hired by the beef industry, which is the area’s major employer.

Also, Pottawatomie County near Manhattan grew 1.5 percent from 18,429 to 18,714, while Jackson County near Topeka grew 1.3 percent from 12,844 to 13,017.

News that Johnson County continued to lead in population growth was no surprise to Doug Davidson, vice president of the County Economic Research Institute in Overland Park.

“This trend has been going on for nearly 40 years and we don’t see anything on the horizon to dramatically change that,” Davidson said.

Johnson County also ranked 53rd nationally in population estimates with the largest numerical increase from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2003.

Davidson attributed the continued growth to Johnson County’s strong economy, good schools and neighborhoods and the people leaving rural areas for urban surroundings.

Census estimates released Thursday showed that Douglas County is tied for the third-fastest-growing county in the state — an estimated 3 percent growth rate between 2000 and 2003, behind Johnson and Hodgeman counties, tied with Franklin and Jefferson Counties.Douglas County also added the third-most number of people during that time, according to the estimates, although it lagged far behind Johnson and Sedgwick counties in that race. Douglas County grew from 99,962 people in 2000 to 102,983 in 2003, according to the Census, a growth of 3,021 people, Johnson and Sedgwick counties added 35,000 and 10,000 people during the same time.