For better or for worse, a majority of American counties are seeing a “natural decrease” in their population, roughly 73%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A natural decrease is “when there are more deaths than births in a population over a given time period.” Meaning, not enough people are born in or move to a county to replace those that die of natural causes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Benton County is one of the few counties in America that’s actually growing – and quickly, at that. Out of 1,800 American counties across multiple states that have seen growth, many of them are in Oregon – and Benton County is the tenth fastest-growing county in the state, making it the 635th largest county in the country.
Likely not a shocker, most of the people helping Oregon grow are from California and Washington, with tens of thousands moving here each year. Luckily, we seem to be reciprocating, because in 2019 Washington and California were the most common destinations, respectively, for people leaving Oregon.
Who’d have thunk it, huh? Oregonians seem to like rain, and Californians can’t seem to get enough of our trees and nature. Maybe all those palm trees and sandy beaches aren’t as nice as we all thought after all.
By Ethan Hauck
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