Northwestern Wisconsin shows mixed population trends

By John Myers

March 11, 2011 at 7:20 PM

Douglas and Sawyer Counties grew a bit over the past decade while Ashland and Superior lost people, according to data released Thursday from the 2010 U.S. census.

The census snapshot of population, racial makeup and growth patterns over the past decade shows that Northwestern Wisconsin's population growth lagged behind the state as a whole. Wisconsin's statewide population grew 6 percent between the 2000 and 2010 counts to stand at 5.7 million people.

In contrast, Douglas County grew by about 2 percent, Sawyer County grew 2.2 percent, Bayfield County was flat and Washburn and Ashland counties both lost population.

The data will be used to re-draw all political boundaries within the state -- from the eight congressional districts to the state Senate and Assembly districts and even county board and city council districts that all must change to include equal population. The new numbers also will be used to determine the region's share of some state and federal programs that are based on population.

"While we didn't go down, we may not have kept up with some of the faster growing counties, and that could hurt us with state and even federal funding," said Douglas Finn, Douglas County Board chairman. "It also means we could lose a little more clout in Madison."

The good news is that the population was up at all. Douglas County's 2010 population of 44,159 is up from the 2000 and 1990 counts 43,287 in 2000, 41,758 in 1990 but still below the population of 44,429 in 1980.

"We seem to have turned things around after bottoming out" in 1990, Finn said. "We have a slow but nice trend going back up now."

While the county grew, the city of Superior declined a half-percent from 27,368 people a decade ago to 27,244 last year. in Superior from 27,100 in 1990 and 29,571 in 1980.

"It shows what we've known for a while now, that the growth has been outside the city in rural areas, especially on the lakes," Finn said. "We've seen that younger people and especially retired people want to be on the lakes and out in the country, whether they're moving out of (Superior) or moving in from other areas."

In fact, the county now has more property value outside Superior than within the city, Finn said.

"That's about what we thought. There hasn't been much change either way the last few years," said Bob Finsland, Superior City Council president. "We're an aging population. I've been to a lot of funerals lately."

"Maybe the high gas prices will push people back to the city so they don't have to drive as far to work and shop," Finsland said.

Other highlights

The number of people in Douglas County who describe themselves as white decreased by about 100. The number of people who describe themselves as black or American Indian increased by about 320. That trend was more pronounced in the city of Superior. Douglas County's largest minority group, American Indians, make up about 2 percent of the population.

Bayfield County added exactly one person, according to the census, from 15,013 to 15,014.

Washburn County dropped by less than a percentage point while Ashland County declined 4.3 percent. The city of Ashland lost more than 400 people, or 4.7 percent, driving the county's overall loss. The city has been struggling to replace 227 jobs lost when Fort James closed its napkin mill in January, 1998.

Among smaller cities, Hayward, Iron River and Solon Springs grew a little over the past decade while Washburn and Bayfield lost a bit.

St. Croix County, near Minneapolis and St. Paul, grew 34 percent, the highest in the state.

Among Wisconsin's largest cities, Milwaukee's population declined 0.4 percent, while Madison grew by 12 percent, Green Bay grew 1.7 percent, Kenosha grew 9.8 percent and Racine dropped 3.7 percent. Milwaukee's population dropped to 594,833, the lowest level since the 1940s.

Statewide, the Hispanic population grew 74.2 percent in the last 10 years, while the black population increased 18 percent, Asians grew 45.6 percent and whites grew 2.8 percent. Hispanics now account for 5.9 percent of Wisconsin's total population. Blacks remain the largest minority group, at 359,148 or 6.3 percent of the population.

While the statewide population grew 6 percent, that failed to keep pace with warmer states, and Wisconsin dropped from 18th to 20th largest by population. Wisconsin was 13th largest in 1910. More detailed data gathered in the Census, including income, will be released at a later date.

By John Myers

John Myers reports on the outdoors, natural resources and the environment for the Duluth News Tribune. You can reach him at jmyers@duluthnews.com.