Yesterday, the Cleveland newspaper, The Plain Dealer, ran an interesting feature story entitled "Incredible Shrinking Ohio" (shortened version available online here). In short, Ohio's projceted growth rate between 2000 - 2030 is a mere 1.7%, ahead of only W. Va, N.Dakota and Iowa (on the flipside, both Nevada & Arizona are expected to double in population). This is well, well below the national growth rate of nearly 30 percent. Also, while the overall Ohio population is growing so slowly, the growth of residents over the age of 64 is expected to jump by 850,000, bringing Ohio's median age to 40. This means an increased demand for health care, nursing homes and senior housing. Also, if these numbers hold true, Ohio will lose 4 electoral votes by 2030, and it can kiss that "battleground state" status goodbye.

Ohio has suffered a net migration loss of more than 133,000 people since 2000. Where are Ohioans going? Tops are Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona. Where will I be in 2030? Who knows.

This entry was posted by Brad, on Sunday, May 01, 2005. You can leave your response.